My December
by silverstrings
Summary: Midou Ban is a confusing person, both in actions and in words. Kazuki struggles to understand him. [BanKazuki, various others]
1. Rainy Nights

**Title:** "My December"  
**Chapter:** 1?   
**Pairings:** Ban/Kazuki for now. Implied Juubei/Kazuki, Toshiki/Kazuki, and others later on.  
**Disclaimer:** GetBackers and all associated characters are, unfortunately, not mine. Sue if you want, but I have no money anyway.  
**Warnings:** For now, mostly just language here and there. Ban's sexiness, my bad writing, etc. I dunno if there's anything/will be anything to be considered a spoiler, but consider this fic with a spoiler-warning anyway, just in case.

* * *

_/ I took a ride to meet an enemy/  
/ I faced a fear of mine and shivered, but didn't blink. /  
/ I took a ride to meet an enemy to end all the madness/  
/ And now I know that I'll be fine/  
/ I am fine... /  
/ Can't get this shit off my mind/   
/ I just want to be alright. /  
/ So just tell me nothing's wrong/  
/ Then get undressed and spend the night. / _

_Ginji had only stepped out of the room for a minute or ten... Just long enough to help Madoka in the kitchen (Shido was grimacing and already bracing himself - and his stomach - for her cooking). when he returned to the sound of Shido and Ban yelling, he barely got in a distressed, 'Ban-chan-!' before his partner was stalking towards the door. _

_"Just stay here, Ginji," Ban had snapped, stalking out the door and slamming it behind him. Ginji hurried after, but by the time he got to the door and had it open, the 360 was already disappearing in the distance. _

* * *

It was amusing to listen to people complain about everyday life. The stresses of going to work, sitting in rush-hour traffic, paying too much for coffee and cigarettes... Constantly, something new for all of them to stress and whine over.

_'Put them in Mugenjou for a week, and they'll be begging to go back to their office jobs and overpriced coffee,'_ Kazuki mused, sipping his green tea and gazing out the rain-dotted window at the world of passerby, chattering and gossiping away amongst themselves beneath their umbrellas. The brunette half-lidded his eyes and set down the mug of hot liquid, resting his chin in the palm of one hand.

Being a Tuesday evening, and that it was pouring outside, the Honky Tonk had stayed relatively quiet and deserted. Natsumi took off early and Paul remained behind the counter, quiet and keeping to himself and his newspaper as he tended to do. Kazuki did the same. After all, he wasn't there to talk... He was simply taking shelter from the rain.

Apparently he wasn't the only one who had that idea. He was drawn rapidly from his own thoughts to the sudden ringing of the door-chimes and the feeling of someone directly near him. His head lifted and his gaze moved, focusing on the other brunette in the doorway. Midou Ban's hands were buried in the pockets of his wet jeans, his shoulders hunched and an all-too familiar scowl on his face. Bright blue eyes scanned the inside of the Honky Tonk a moment, settled on Kazuki and, after a moment's thought, he sauntered over to take up residence across from the thread-user.

"Ban-kun."

"Yo, _itomaki_," He grunted, shoving some of the wet hair from his face and pulling off his shades to try and dry them on his shirt; an attempt that failed as his shirt was just as wet as the rest of him. After a moment, he gave up and just set the smeared lenses aside and slumped back. He didn't bother explaining why he was there, or why he had been stranded out in the rain.

"Ban-kun, why-"

"You're gonna ask me why I'm here?" He cut Kazuki off, scowling out the window while searching his shirt pocket for his last cigarette. When he found it, he put it between his lips, but didn't light it. Paul would have likely just thrown him outside if he had.

"No." Kazuki's brows drew together in a frown. "I was going to ask why you're soaking wet and without your car..."

"Tch'..." Ban's face took on a sulkish expression. "Car got towed again... Just 'cause I left it parked at a meter a little bit after the money ran out."

Kazuki raised a thin brown. "A 'little' meaning...?"

"I don't know! An hour, maybe?"

The thread-user forced back a smile and lifted a hand to nudge over the warm, barely-touched cup of tea to Ban. "Where's Ginji-san?"

"With the stupid monkey-tamer. He offered to let us stay at his place -" Ban paused long enough to pick up the offered tea and take a long drink, not seeming to care that it was hot enough to scald his throat. It warmed his insides, and that was all that mattered. Once he set the cup back down, he continued, "Or, Madoka's place, rather..."

Kazuki could already see what must have happened. "You and Shido fought -"

"Not _my_ fault he's an asshole."

"-And you stormed off. Right out into the rain, with no place to sleep for the night."

"What're you trying to say?"

"That you're a tad bit impulsive and a little foolish..." He smiled as he said it, bells jingling faintly from their spot in his hair as his head tilted. Ban gave him a dirty look, but didn't seem too eager to try and pick a fight. Paul would just kick them out, and then they'd _both_ be stuck in the rain.

...Which ended up happening ten minutes later anyway, when Paul closed up and politely asked them to leave so he could head home himself. Ban and Kazuki found themselves outside, huddling under the awning to try and keep dry and unconsciously standing close to one another for warmth.

"Where will you go now?" Kazuki inquired, once Paul had turned off the lights and left them there alone.

Ban shrugged. "Dunno. Might just hang around here, or hit the bars."

"If you have money for bars, why not use it for a hotel room?"

"Tch', I _don't_ have any money, if you must know. But I can probably win some at cards or something." With that, he stuffed his hands deep into his pockets and stepped away, starting to walk off down the street with his shoulders slumped, wet shirt clinging to his skin any place it could. "Catch you later, _itomaki_."

Kazuki watched for a long moment, until Ban had reached the street corner and was about to turn. He was caught between thinking it was Ban's own fault; he'd had a nice warm place to sleep tonight, and lost it because he'd likely picked a fight with Shido (again)... or feeling sorry for him being stuck out in the rain. Without realizing what he was doing, Kazuki stepped out from beneath the awning and hurried after him. "Ban-kun, please wait!"

The other brunette paused, turning back to stare at the Fuuchouinryu master as he stumbled towards him, almost slipping on the slick pavement. For as graceful and delicate as Kazuki _looked_, he certainly was a bit awkward and clumsy at times. It was a rather endearing quality.

"Don't break your neck; what do you want?" He drew his lighter and the cigarette he'd been babying earlier from his wet shirt pocket, tucking the cig between his lips and setting to lighting it.

Kazuki slowed once he'd caught up, offering a ghost of a smile. "I could give you a place to stay, if you'd like. Just for tonight, so you can get out of the rain and sleep."

"I hate hotels, and I don't need your damned money." Ban casted him an insulted look, then turned his attention back to the lighter that wasn't wanting to do its job.

"No, but you could stay at my place." Kazuki frowned, feeling a bit of a blush rising up to his cheeks. It must have sounded so strange to have someone offer to let you stay with them for a night. It could have been taken very, very wrong.

Ban was probably thinking the same thing, because he raised a brow and looked at him levelly past the cigarette he'd finally managed to light.

"Your place, huh? That's some invitation, didn't know you thought of me like that."

"You know what I meant! Even sleeping on a couch is better than staying a night in the rain, isn't it?" Kazuki huffed indignantly.

He considered that for as long as it took him to draw in a deep breath of nicotine. And then, "Good point. Lead the way." Ban straightened, tucked the lighter back into his pocket, and followed after Kazuki as the taller brunette started off down the street.

* * *

**Chapter 1 notes:** I have a very, very difficult time starting things off. ..;; This fic has no plot so far in my head, I just felt the urge to write, and sadly enough out of all the things I'm working on, this just may be the only one I even -try- to finish. ;;  
Notes; I know the anime never explains if Kazuki stays in Mugenjou, or if he lives 'outside' in his own place. Also, I've only read the manga as far as what's been released in English, and seen Japanese scans and read the chapter-updates here and there that people post on the normal getbackers LJ community, so I'm not sure if Kazuki's living-arrangements are mentioned in the manga, either. ; Sorry if this chapter is a little choppy and doesn't flow too well. ..;; Also, this ended up being much shorter than I wanted to. Chapter 2 is a good deal longer, I promise. ; I'll post the second part either after I've had some feedback on how I'm doing, or whenever I get up the courage to do so. 


	2. Home Sweet Home

**Title:** "My December"  
**Chapter:** 2?   
**Pairings:** Ban/Kazuki for now.  
**Disclaimer:** GetBackers and all associated characters are, unfortunately, not mine. Sue if you want, but I have no money anyway.  
**Warnings:** For now, mostly just language here and there. Ban's sexiness, my bad writing, etc. I dunno if there's anything/will be anything to be considered a spoiler, but consider this fic with a spoiler-warning anyway, just in case.  
**Notes: **This was written to be posted on the Ban/Kazuki LJ community (www (dot) livejournal (dot)com (slash) community (slash) echoesofwinter). Also, check out Ryuuen's C2 community for Ban/Kazu fics!

* * *

_/ Speak to me/  
/ For I have seen /  
/ Your waning smile/  
/ Your scars concealed... / _

After forty minutes or so of Ban's bitching about walking so long in the rain (and Kazuki ignoring it) they reached an older apartment building only a few blocks away from Mugenjou. Ban figured the closeness was Kazuki's way of staying near to "home" (or close to Toshiki and Juubei, rather) without actually having to be inside the fortress itself.

The building wasn't one of the newer ones in town. Possibly because any neighboorhood near Mugenjou wasn't exactly high in value; bad for owners of apartment complexes in the area, good for people who couldn't afford much in rent.

Kazuki shouldered open the door that led into the building, already fishing around in his pants' pocket for a single key. Most people carried their house key with something else attached; a plastic keychain with some stupid saying that was supposed to be funny, a little charm, or even just more keys. Kazuki simply had a single key. It was a wonder he hadn't lost it somewhere.

Ban followed the other brunette up a flight of stairs and down a hallway, where the overhead lights were a bit dim and a few had burned out and no one had bothered to replace them yet while others were flickering, on the brink of death. Kazuki paused outside one of the doors, unlocked it, gave it a bit of a shove and strolled inside, assuming Ban would follow.

And he did. Ban really wasn't sure what to expect a home belonging to Ito no Kazuki to look like. The apartment was very plain, really. The walls were bare; the furniture was simple and only relatively new... There were a good deal of books scattered around, though, leading Ban to believe that Kazuki didn't pick up after himself as much as one thought he would.

"Make yourself at home. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?" Kazuki called as he strode through the small hallway leading back into, what Ban assumed was, the bedroom.

"Towel?" Ban combed a hand back through his wet hair and then proceeded to shrug out of his jacket. He hung it over the back of a wooden dining room chair, and shuffled his way through the open door nearby into the bathroom, peeling off the layer of wet shirt that clung to him like a second skin as he went.

Kazuki appeared in the bathroom doorway only a moment later after changing into a loose night-shirt and a pair of sweats that seemed a bit too big on him. He paused and only poorly managed to hide the fact that he was staring at Ban's shirtless, wet body. With a bit of a blush, he tore his eyes away and offered a large, navy blue towel, along with a pair of sweats similar to the ones he was wearing. "Here... There are more in the linen closet at the end of the hall... And I think these are the only clothes of mine that will fit you."

"Such a good little host, aren't you? Don't worry about me, I'll lay these clothes out and they should be dry enough by morning." He accepted the towel and pants, setting the later on the bathroom counter. He draped the towel loosely around his shoulders, then tilted his head to glance at Kazuki as he unbuttoned his pants. "Were you offering food a minute ago?"

"If you're hungry, yes. I don't have much, but I can fix up something..." It was habit that Kazuki looked at a person when he was speaking to them, but talking to someone who was attractive (but that you aren't really supposed to even _like_) while they're standing half-naked, wet, and with their pants undone was a little unnerving. He averted his gaze again quickly, cheeks darkening a shade. It could have been his imagination, but he could have sworn Ban was watching his reaction and smirking. The strings'-master turned away completely, and started towards the kitchen. "You like conger eel, don't you? I have some of that." As long as he wasn't looking at Ban, his voice didn't waver quite so much.

At the mention of eel, Ban perked up and the smirk left his face. "Conger eel? Works for me. I don't suppose you have any booze in this place?"

Kazuki leaned over to pull some things from the fridge, pausing a moment to consider that question. "I have some wine in one of the cupboards, if you'd like. It was a house-warming gift that I never opened, so I'm not sure if it's any good..."

That reaffirmed Ban's suspicions that Kazuki wasn't much of a drinker. He'd never seen him drink, at least. And even Ginji had commented once awhile back that 'Kazu-chan' only drank on a rare occasion, usually birthdays, sometimes holidays. Musing over that thought, Ban slipped out of the remaining soaked clothes, and tugged on the borrowed pants before sauntering out of the bathroom to go stand in the doorway to the kitchen and watch Kazuki.

The older brunette finally straightened, setting out some leftover rice and vegetables, as well as the _anago_ that Ban liked so much. He was painfully aware of Ban's presence, a warm stare following him as he moved. He knew that Ban was likely stripped down and sporting the pants that would definately be a little big and probably hanging dangerously low on his hips, so Kazuki dared not look at him. Instead he distracted himself by preparing the food, keeping his gaze locked on his own hands as they deftly cut the eel into thick slices.

Ban watched him for a few seconds longer, silent. And then, "Where'd you say you kept the drinks?"

"The cabinet right above me, I'll get it in a moment..." He made the mistake then of casting a sideward glance at Ban. A glance that lingered on the other man for longer than it should have, and resulted in his hand slipping. The knife he was holding sliced open the skin on the palm of his other hand, and he dropped said knife with a small yelp.

Ban blinked and straightened, stepping towards him. "Oi, oi, are you okay?"

"Y-yes, I just slipped." He looked down at his hand, and Ban had to suppress a laugh at the pouty look on Kazuki's face as he examined his wound.

"It's not that bad, is it? Lemme see." Ban moved to stand beside him, and for some reason Kazuki allowed him to take his hand and hold it under the sink's faucet beneath cold water, while asking where Kazuki kept the band-aids. The cut wasn't too deep, and only a little over an inch long. A bandage on it and it would heal fine.

With a small sniffle, Kazuki pointed to a drawer on Ban's right, and the Jagan master promptly pulled it open and dug around until he found a box of rarely used band-aids. Somehow he managed to skillfully tear the wrapper of a larger one open with just one hand and his teeth (practice with condom wrappers, maybe? Kazuki didn't want to think about that.) and after making sure the cut was dry, he placed the bandage over it with surprising gentleness.

Throughout it, Kazuki watched, perfectly quiet. Momentarily he was taken back to a time when he was younger, and his mother had done things like this... Bandaging the common scraped knee or scuffed hands that were the result of Kazuki and Juubei running through the woods and streams well past dark.

He was brought back to reality when Ban gave his hand a pat. "There, I'm no doctor, but I think you're gonna live."

To that, Kazuki smiled and tilted his head a bit. "Thankyou."

It was Ban's turn to stare at him, mild curiosity on his face. "You spaced out there for a minute. Blood make you queasy?"

"Ah- N-no. I was just remembering when I was little," he hesitated, "Mother used to scold me for being so careless and getting hurt... Then she'd sit me down and bandage me up like this and kiss it afterwards, telling me to be more careful next time." His eyes fell half-closed in thought, a small smile on his face.

Ban studied him as he spoke, and then chuffed quietly. "S'a nice memory." Not that he had any even remotely like it about his own mother.

Kazuki nodded, and then blinked his eyes fully open again, gazing at Ban in wonder as the other brunette suddenly lifted Kazuki's injured hand to his lips and kissed it. Indigo eyes lifted to watch Kazuki's bewildered face, a grin tugging at his mouth. "...Be more careful next time."

"B-Ban-kun..." He started, any response his brain had thought up catching in his throat.

"...I mean, things like this wouldn't happen if you weren't drooling over me so much, _itomaki_." Something in Ban's eyes glistened mischievously, and Kazuki's amazement was quickly lost.

"What?"

"Y'know, staring at me like that and gettin' distracted. S'why you cut yourself. Lucky you didn't lose a finger, huh?"

"I was doing no such thing!"

Ban couldn't help but grin; Kazuki's face was flushed and his expression one of confusion and shock. "C'mon, you can admit that you think I'm attractive. Tons of women do it everyday!"

Kazuki fumed, Ban's arrogance making it easier to stay mad at him. "Liar; get out of the kitchen!"

In response to that, Ban blinked and then promptly growled in protest. "What about my food? I'm starving!"

"It's not done yet anyway, so go starve out in the dining room! Out!" He pointed with his injured hand to the door, the other resting on his hip. Ban felt oddly like a dog being yelled at for begging, and grumpily he turned and started trudging out.

Once he reached the door, however, he stopped and looked over his shoulder, grinning. "Hey, _itomaki_."

Kazuki, who had restarted putting together the food again, slowly turned his cold gaze to focus on Ban in a death-glare. "...What?"

"...Your face is still red."

Then Ban bolted out of the kitchen, laughing, before Kazuki could start throwing things at him.

* * *

It took Ban next to no time to demolish the food Kazuki prepared for him. And Kazuki merely watched, chin resting in the palm of his non-injured hand. Had anyone told him this morning that by ten that same night, Midou Ban would be sitting across from him in _his_ dining room in a pair of _his_ pants, chowing down on Conger eel and rice that _he_ had prepared, Kazuki would have laughed at them.

Once the bowl had been practically licked clean, Ban sat back with a satisfied look on his face. Kazuki just stared at him. Not only had Ban devoured his own food, he had eaten Kazuki's as well, probably without even realizing it. Kazuki had seen Ban almost done with his meal and looking as though he probably wanted more, so he'd simply nudged his own bowl over, and Ban had snatched it up without even a word. He'd also gone through three tall glasses of wine, and looked quite content.

"You aren't a bad cook, _itomaki_. Paul should hire someone like you to make real meals at the Honky Tonk," he practically purred, patting his stomach.

Kazuki made a slight face. It didn't exactly take much skill to toss raw eel in with rice and vegetables, but he refrained from mentioning that. As quiet as always, he stood and gathered up the empty dishes to deposit them in the kitchen sink. He could clean them later. Meanwhile, he could hear Ban pouring himself another glass of wine, and mused to himself that he was going to have a drunk Midou Ban passed out on his couch within a few hours at this rate.

Well, Ban being on his couch happened pretty quickly. Once Kazuki walked back out of the kitchen, his house-guest was missing from the dining table and instead lay stretched out on the couch, arms folded behind his head. While the idea of sleeping on a couch didn't appeal to most people, for someone who was used to spending his nights in a reclined car seat (a very small car, at that), it was heaven. Not to mention it was a hell of a lot warmer, too, and quieter.

As he lay there with his eyes closed, Ban could pick out the sounds of Kazuki moving quietly out of the kitchen and pausing. There were more footsteps, and a few seconds later Ban felt a blanket being dropped onto his head. With a puzzled noise, he tugged the soft material away from his face and stared up. Kazuki was leaning over the back of the couch, and Ban almost growled at him for disturbing his attempt at a nap - except that he was suddenly distracted by the bottle of wine the other brunette was holding above him. Perking, he sat up and snatched the bottle as Kazuki walked around the couch to sit in the reclining chair nearby.

"If you have a hangover in the morning, don't blame me."

"Shuddap." He took a drink straight from the bottle, then tilted his head and held said bottle out in Kazuki's direction. When the offer for a drink was refused with a polite shake of the head, Ban snorted. "You need to loosen up. Do you _ever_ drink?"

"Sometimes, socially, yes." He frowned, slipping a hand back to delicately start unwrapping his hair. It had gotten soaked during their walk in the rain, and it wasn't likely to dry if he kept it tied up.

"This counts as socially; I'm here, aren't I? C'mon, show me that Ito no Kazuki can handle booze like us _men_ can." His voice was taunting, testing, _purposely_ pushing around for buttons to cause irritation. It was what he was good at. And hell, if he was going to get drunk tonight, he'd make sure Kazuki did, too.

Sure enough, Kazuki scowled, tossed the wrap from his hair to the floor and leaned forward, snatching the offered bottle and bringing it to his lips. Ban could tell that Kazuki was not built for drinking; it wouldn't take much to get him drunk. He watched the other man throwing back more than enough wine to leave him feeling quite tipsy and grinned. This was going to be _fun_.

* * *

**Chapter 2:** Ahn, a little better than the first chapter, I think? One of the anime episodes mentions that one of Ban's favorite foods is Conger eel. I tried reading up on it a bit for writing this and all I could really find out is that it's served raw, and sometimes with vegetables and rice. I refer to it as 'anago' here and there in this chapter, because that seems to be the Japanese word for it. I hope I got it right. . Yes, I'm picky about things like this. ..;

Planned for next chapter: Loooots of talking. O.o; A drunk!Ban, maybe a tipsy!Kazuki, if I can manage it. More embarrassment for Kazuki, and then an awkward night's sleep.


	3. Conversations at Midnight

**Title:** "My December"   
**Chapter:** 3?  
**Pairings:** Ban/Kazuki for now.   
**Disclaimer:** GetBackers and all associated characters are, unfortunately, not mine. Sue if you want, but I have no money anyway.   
**Warnings:** For now, mostly just language here and there. Ban's sexiness, my bad writing, etc. I dunno if there's anything/will be anything to be considered a spoiler, but consider this fic with a spoiler-warning anyway, just in case.  
**Notes:** his was written to be posted on the Ban/Kazuki LJ community (www (dot) livejournal (dot)com (slash) community (slash) echoesofwinter). Also, check out Ryuuen's C2 community for Ban/Kazu fics!

* * *

_/ I don't think you notice/  
/ When you see my face. /  
/ I guess you're waiting/  
/ To spin me around again. /  
/ Wheels, I guess, are turning/  
/ Somewhere inside my head. /  
/ I know that this is /  
/ Deeper than you get. / _

Just as Kazuki expected, before midnight Ban had downed most of the wine in the apartment, and was more than a little out of it as a result.

And just as Ban thought, Kazuki took hardly anything to get a bit tipsy, and he sat on the opposite end of the couch from Ban, cheeks flushed and eyes half-lidded. It was a shame that, from the looks of it, Kazuki was the type of drunk who just mellowed out and went fairly quiet as opposed to stripping and giving lap-dances.

Once the last of the wine had been downed, Ban turned the bottle upside down and made a slight face. "We're outta booze."

"Very observant." Kazuki rested his cheek against one hand, staring groggily at the television they'd been watching for a nice long while. Drinking always made him so tired and thoughtful and almost depressed... and therefore he was unable to focus on whatever was playing.

"Hey, _itomaki_."

He blinked slowly, but didn't move his gaze. "Mm?"

"Can I ask you somethin'?" Ban set the empty bottle aside, looking back at the television as well.

"Go ahead."

"You and samurai-boy, what's going on with you two?"

_That_ got Kazuki to lift his head and look over at Ban. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. You two... He follows you everywhere. And the way he talks, gives people the impression that you two might have something going on." Ban watched Kazuki's face carefully, searching for any sign of reaction. There was none.

"If you mean that it gives people the impression that we're a couple, then that's fine. Let people assume what they want to assume." And then he looked away again.

Silence for a moment.

"...Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Is what everyone assumes _true_?"

"Does it matter?"

"Do you have to answer all my questions with a question?"

"Does that irritate you?" Kazuki couldn't help but quirk a smile. Ban was glaring at him now.

"Yeah, yeah it does. Can you answer the damn question?"

The thread-user hmm'd to himself and shifted slowly, leaning his head back to stare up at the ceiling. "Juubei and I are best friends. I'm not stupid; I know that he cares for me as more than that, but... It's not meant to be. We wouldn't work."

Ban tilted his head, tugging the purple lenses from his face and toying with them absently. "Mm, is he not your type?"

"Something like that..." His eyes drifted closed. "If you must know, while I find his devotion and want to protect me very endearing, it's..." he trailed off, unsure how to finish that sentence.

Ban did it for him. "Smothering?"

Brown eyes opened immediately, and Kazuki lifted his head to stare at Ban. "Are you reading minds now, Ban-kun?"

"When I need to," he teased lightly, quirking a grin.

Kazuki made a slight face at that, and stuck out his tongue in a very childish gesture. "Since when are you interested in my love-life, anyway? Or rather, lack there of."

"Just curious. I'm sure Ginji wonders about you two sometimes, too."

The thread-user pursed his lips thoughtfully for a moment at the mention of Ginji's name. "...What about the two of you?"

Ban blinked. "Hah? Me and Ginji?" After Kazuki nodded in response, Ban just smirked lazily while setting his shades aside. "What makes you think I'm even _interested_ in guys, anyway?"

That question brought a blush to Kazuki's face. It wasn't like him to simply assume things about people, especially not things concerning one's preference in genders. Ban and Ginji just seemed so close, so it was only natural that most of the ex-Volts members thought that something was going on between them.

"I'm sorry. I just figured, I mean... No offense, but you just seem - Well, you and Ginji-san are very close, and even the comments you make about me sometimes..." He huffed a little, frustrated that his words weren't coming out the way he wanted them to. He blamed it on the alcohol.

As he stuttered a bit more, he didn't notice the leer sliding across Ban's face. The Jagan-master shifted from his seat and moved the short distance across the small couch. Before Kazuki knew it, the other brunette was leaning close to him, putting their faces only a few inches apart.

"Wanna know something?" Ban purred.

Kazuki blinked, and immediately stopped trying to talk.

"Even if I were straight, I'd still hit on you 'cause you've got such a pretty face, _itomaki_." He was grinning, and his mouth was far too close to Kazuki's for comfort.

Kazuki swallowed hard, afraid to move or even speak less his lips accidentally brush against Ban's. "_If_ you were straight...? But you said -"

"I didn't say one way or the other, did I?" His eyes were half-lidded, cheeks faintly flushed as an after-effect of all the wine he'd consumed. Kazuki found himself unsure what to reply, and so he just sat there, staring up at Ban through wide eyes and waiting to see what he was going to do. Without either of them speaking, the low hum of voices on the television sounded far too loud.

Slowly, Ban started to lean in a little more. His lips just barely ghosted across Kazuki's, not touching but still just right _there_, and then...

He pulled away, and started to laugh.

Startled, Kazuki blinked, lifting a hand and touching his fingertips to his lips. "W-what's so funny?"

"The look on your face, you should have seen it." Ban sat back, barely managing words through his snickering. "Your face is as red as your shirt. If we added some green, you'd be all set for Christmas!"

The more Ban spoke, the more Kazuki's expression shifted into something angry and hurt. He slid off the couch and, a bit unsteadily, started stomping off towards the hallway.

Ban immediately stopped laughing, blinking, turning, and peering over the back of the couch. "Oi, oi! Where are you going?"

Kazuki paused in the doorway long enough to look back and glare at him. Even so, his voice still remained amazingly quiet. "To bed, or at least as far away from you as I can get."

"C'mon, _itomaki_, I was just joking," Ban called after him, and was greeted only with the sound of a slamming door.

"Tch', some people can't take a joke," he grumped, flopping back onto the couch and curling up beneath the blanket. The hum of the television set was enough to lull him to sleep.

In his room, Kazuki grumpily crawled out of his t-shirt, muttering incoherently to himself, "Childish, foolish, idiotic man... Why..."

The shirt was promptly wadded up and thrown into the laundry hamper inside his closet. He pulled the back the blankets on his bed and got in after flicking off the lights, and curled up to sulkily try and sleep. Maybe Ban would be gone when we woke up in the morning. One could only hope... Kazuki didn't want to face him again just yet. He was still too embarrassed for having let someone like Midou Ban get that close to him. He'd just been curious... Curious to see if Ban really would go so far as kissing him just to tease him. The image of Ban's smirking face floated into Kazuki's mind, and he made an irritated little sound into his pillow.

Somewhere in the course of an hour, his irritation melted away and allowed him to sleep, curled in on himself and hugging a pillow against his chest.

* * *

It was nearly four a.m..

_'...So why am I awake...?'_ Kazuki blinked blearily at the digital clock on the nightstand beside his bed, only barely awake to form a coherent thought.

The sudden feeling of a presence in his room roused him a bit more, but then he calmed after realizing that it was Ban. In his half-awake state, he couldn't think enough to ask the other man what he wanted at this hour. Instead, he lay quietly as Ban drew back the blankets and crawled into the bed beside him.

Kazuki sighed softly. He imagined the couch was uncomfortable, so if Ban wanted to share the bed, then he would allow it. Just this once. He was too tired to wake up enough to start an argument over it anyway.

Just as that thought crawled through his head, he felt Ban curling up against him, spooning around his own body and snaking an arm around his waist. Kazuki tensed at first, calling out in a sleepy-soft question, "What...?"

"Go t'sleep, Kazuki..." Ban's voice was just as groggy and sleep-filled, soft and unguarded against the back of Kazuki's neck where he'd chosen to nestle his face against. It was hard to tell if he was really even awake or not.

Slowly, Kazuki relaxed and closed his eyes again. Ban was a warm presence at his back, and for some reason, he felt a level of safety like this. He would deal with whatever embarrassing consequences the morning would hold later. For now... This was far too comfortable.

Outside, the rain continued to beat down, pittering against the bedroom window. The sound lulled both men back into a state of comfortable sleep.

* * *

**Chapter Notes:** Xx; It took forever to get this done. At one point, I just... Got stuck and couldn't figure out how to get past that point. I figured the whole drinking/alcohol thing would give them a chance to talk about things that they otherwise probably wouldn't talk about. I guess I could have done more with it, but, eh. I have too many plans for later chapters. It's just a matter of -getting- to those chapters. grumble ; Boring chapter, I'm sorry! The only part I'm pleased with is the last bit, because I can picture it in my head and it's just such a nice moment. Meh. Hope someone enjoys this. Xx Lyrics are from Vertical Horizon's "Finding Me". 


	4. Perplexity

**Title:** "My December"   
**Chapter:** 4?  
**Pairings:** Ban/Kazuki eventually. I'm workin' on it.  
**Disclaimer:** GetBackers and all associated characters are, unfortunately, not mine. Sue if you want, but I have no money anyway.  
**Warnings:** For now, mostly just language here and there. Ban's sexiness, my bad writing, etc. I dunno if there's anything/will be anything to be considered a spoiler, but consider this fic with a spoiler-warning anyway, just in case.   
**Notes:** his was written to be posted on the Ban/Kazuki LJ community (www (dot) livejournal (dot)com (slash) community (slash) echoesofwinter). Also, check out Ryuuen's C2 community for Ban/Kazu fics!

* * *

_/ I blame everyone else, not my own partaking. /  
/ My passive-aggressiveness can be devistating. /  
/ I'm terrified and mistrusting and/  
/ You've never met anyone /  
/ Who's as closed-down as I am, sometimes. /_

When the alarm at his bedside went off around nine the next morning, Kazuki jerked awake and silenced the noisy thing by slamming a heavy hand on the snooze button. Of course, in doing so, he fell half out of bed. Figuring since he was halfway to the floor anyway, he sat up slowly and tried to rub the sleepiness from his face. It was when he sighed heavily and turned to look at the other side of the bed that he noticed Ban was gone. He blinked at the empty spot, and felt a faint heat rush to his cheeks.

Last night certainly had been... Interesting. He recalled falling asleep rather quickly once Ban had decided to take up residence beside him. A few times, he briefly woke up simply because he was unused to rolling over and finding himself lying on another body. It had resulted in Ban grumbling irritably, and eventually yanking Kazuki closer and hugging the other man against his side, making it difficult for Kazuki to move at all.

He sighed at the memory, glaring at the empty side of the bed as though Ban were still there. And then he got to his feet and set to his usual morning-chores... Making the bed, showering, dressing, and spending nearly an hour brushing out the several feet of chocolate-colored hair that had a good deal more tangles than usual as a result of him sleeping on it while it was still a bit wet.

Upon going out into the living room, he saw the pants he'd let Ban wear the previous night draped over the back of the couch. Kazuki found he felt a little... weird about picking them up. But he did, and tossed them into the laundry hamper just inside the bathroom door. Upon further living-room-inspection, he found that Ban had even picked up the bottles and glasses and put them in the kitchen. There was no note of any kind, not that Kazuki had really expected one. He didn't even expect a thank-you the next time they bumped into each other. Ban just wasn't that kind of person. He was the type to think along the lines of, 'why should I thank you when you were the one who offered in the first place?'

Kazuki mused on the previous night while he finished straightening up the apartment, then pocketed his keys and left the building, brows drawn together in thought. Somewhere just outside, a familiar voice called out just a few feet behind him.

"Am I really so hard to miss that you'd just walk right past me?"

Slightly startled, Kazuki turned around, blinking at the source of the voice. "Shido... I'm sorry. I guess I was distracted."

The beast master raised a brow, pushing away from the light post he'd been leaning against. "I'll say. And you're late, too. Or did you forget that Hevn gave us a job for today?"

He _had_ forgotten, sort of. "I just didn't realize today was the day. I'm really sorry, Shido." Sighing, he pushed a hand back through his bangs, grimacing a bit.

Shido shrugged, burying his hands into the pockets of his jeans and starting to walk past the threa-user, assuming he would follow. Kazuki did.

After a few moments of the usual silence that lingered between the two of them, Shido piped up.

"It's not like you to look so distant when you're about to go on a job. What's wrong?"

"I... It's nothing. I guess I'm just a little tired."

"Late night?"

"You could say that..." Kazuki frowned, unsure that he wanted to offer the information that Ban had stayed over.

Shido stared over at him intently, one brow raised. "...So it's true."

"Hah?"

"You let the snake-bastard crash with you last night." He made a slight face of disapproval.

"How did you-?"

"A little bird told me."

"...Is it really that big of a deal?" Kazuki sighed, "Ginji-san would have been very sad if his best friend had frozen to death sleeping in the rain." When he looked over at Shido, he saw that his friend had his head turned, looking back towards the apartment building disappearing farther into the distance behind them.

"Is he still there?"

"No, he was gone when I woke up. I didn't even hear him leave." After saying that, he felt Shido's heavy gaze locked onto him again, and felt a blush rising up to his cheeks. "Stop staring at me like that... You're acting as though I... I slept with him or something." The moment he said it, he regretted it. Technically, he _had_ slept with Ban... Just not in the sense that he meant that statement.

Shido stopped walking, and just stared. "...Did you?"

Kazuki whirled around, shocked. "Shido!"

"What! I can ask, can't I?"

"You most certainly can not! I did not sleep with Mido Ban!" His cheeks were burning now, and he turned away quickly to make sure Shido didn't see it.

"Sorry, sorry. Different subject." Shido shrugged his broad shoulders and started walking again, smiling faintly to himself. Kazuki huffed indignantly, huddling into his jacket and frowning straight ahead at nothing in particular. The silence resumed, though at some point Shido chuckled and grinned widely to himself, seeming amused at the situation. Kazuki just grumbled a 'be quiet', and slipped farther into sulkiness when that just caused Shido to laugh aloud.

* * *

The job Hevn had assigned them went just as planned. Shido could have handled it alone, but needed Kazuki to act as a guide to the location. The beastmaster often wondered how one could retain so much detail and information in one's brain the way Kazuki did. After they were done, both headed to the Honky Tonk to meet with their mediator, and receive their payment.

Upon arriving and pushing open the door to the small restaurant, the sound of Ban's yelling met their ears.

"I don't _care_ if you're hungry! If we don't get these signs put up, we won't get jobs, and won't get money, and you'll never eat again!"

Followed by a plaintive, "But, but, Baaaan-chaaan!"

"_Shut up_! Get back to work!"

Shido stepped in first, scowling a bit at the snake-bastard, who currently had Ginji in a headlock. Markers were scattered over the counter, along with the all-too familiar flyers that Ban insisted they make to pass out to people on the street.

Kazuki followed him in, rubbing his arms a bit to warm them. All that walking in the cold was getting to him. He was likely to get sick at this rate. From behind the counter, Natsumi chimed a friendly greeting to them both, and Paul didn't even bother to look up. Ban didn't seem to take notice of them, even if Ginji did.

"Ow, ow, Ban-chan! hat hurts - Hah, Kazu-chan! Shido!" His whimpery expression brightened immediately and he waved. It was then that Ban released him and turned a little to look at the other two, and Kazuki could have sworn that Ban was almost... _glaring_ at him for some reason. He returned the gaze levelly, though the expression on his face was one of slight confusion. He'd not even said hello, but already Ban looked ready to start throwing insults.

"Ne, what're you two doing here?" Ginji turned on the stool to face them, his smile drawing Kazuki's attention away from Ban. It never failed that his Raitei could warm him so easily.

"Picking up payment from Hevn." Shido shuffled his way over to the counter and took a seat, as far away from Ban as he could. Without being asked, Natsumi started to pour two fresh cups of coffee for the newcomers.

"Tch'. I guess that means you two stole another one of our jobs." Although he spoke in response to Shido, Ban was still staring straight at Kazuki. It was quickly making the string-user uncomfortable... Enough so that he'd not even moved out of the doorway yet. In fact, the only thing that eventually did get him to move was the door opening behind him and Hevn making her way in. Kazuki stepped to one side quickly to get out of her way, and she brushed past with a bright greeting to everyone. At some point while Kazuki was distracted, Ban had turned his attention elsewhere, scribbling across one of the flyers with his head down.

Hevn made her way to Shido, speaking cheerfully while ignoring Ginji's whimpering and Ban's half-glares in her direction. They were both so hard up for money, that even a dangerous job from Hevn would have been gladly accepted. And there Hevn was, giving all _their_ jobs to other people. That's how the two of them saw it, anyway.

"Kazuki-kun?"

Kazuki jumped a little, turning his attention to Hevn and Shido, both who were looking at him. Shido just raised a brow, and Kazuki hoped he hadn't noticed his confused staring at Ban. "I'm sorry...?"

Hevn tilted her head, but if she noticed anything off, she didn't say anything. Instead, she offered a white envelope that would contain his part of the payment for the job. "There's a bit extra in there, the clients were quite pleased with how quickly the job got done. Just to be expected of you and Shido-kun."

Taking the envelope and tucking it into the inside pocket of his jacket, Kazuki smiled a little, never one to receive compliments well. "Thankyou, Hevn-san..."

From the corner of his eyes, his noticed Ban tossing the marker he'd been using onto the counter and getting up. Said Jagan-master walked behind Kazuki, almost brushing against him as he stormed out the door to the Honky Tonk and into the cold. Kazuki turned to stare at the door, confused. Silence fell over everyone in the cafe, and then many puzzled stares turned towards Ginji, expecting him to explain Ban's crankier-than-usual attitude.

Ginji gave them a helpless look, grinning weakly and shrugging. "He's been a little weird today, I'm sure it'll pass." Because Ban's moods did tend to pass after a few hours.

Shido snorted and turned his attention back to the coffee in front of himself, disinterested in the situation. Hevn just sighed. Kazuki was the only person who hadn't turned his attention away from the door. When he did, it was just to announce that he would be heading home, and when nobody paid him much attention, he turned and slipped out the door.

Outside, Ban was leaning against the wall, focusing on lighting a fresh cigarette that he'd likely bummed off of someone earlier that morning. For a moment, Kazuki considered asking if he'd done something to upset Ban, but thought better of it. _'I'm just being paranoid. Or perhaps he's just hung-over... That would explain it.'_ Satisfied with his own answer, Kazuki started down the street, keeping his head lowered as he passed Ban to avoid looking at him. He could walk by, not say a word...

"You've got some nerve, y'know."

...And then he stopped, looking over his shoulder. "Pardon?"

Ban had the cigarette lit and was in the process of tucking the lighter back into his pocket. "You heard me. You 'n monkey-tamer... Always snatching up all the good-paying jobs before Ginji and I even have a chance."

"You know perfectly well that Hevn-san chooses the most appropriate people for the jobs she has." Kazuki strained to keep his voice calm, something he always found to be a challenge when dealing with Ban. "Shido and I need money to live too, you know."

Ban just stared at him levelly over the tops of purple lenses. And then... he turned his head and looked away.

Kazuki stood there, still peering over his shoulder. His blank expression melted into confusion. Was that it? Was Ban not going to start shouting or insulting him? Was he just going to stand there and be silent and not fight back at all?

"...Ban-kun?"

"What?" There was a little more venom to his voice than usual, and it made Kazuki wince.

"Did I do something to make you angry last night? You don't seem yourself today."

"Don't fucking flatter yourself, _itomaki_." Ban turned on him then, rapidly closing the few feet of distance between them. Kazuki took a quick step back in alarm, but Ban closed in on him, catching the string's-master between himself and the wall of the Honky Tonk. "Don't ever think that _anything_ you do has _any_ sort of effect on me, got that?"

Kazuki took another stumbling step backwards, putting his back flush against the wall in doing so. Ban was still there, and despite Kazuki being a few centimeters taller, he felt small with Ban seemingly looming over him that way. He couldn't even think of anything to say at the sudden outburst, and just stared up into the angry blue eyes less than a foot away from him.

Fortunately - or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it - Ginji chose that moment to open the door to the Honky Tonk and peer out. "Ban-chan! Hevn-san says she might have a job for us, if you're interested!" He seemed pleased with himself, probably hoping that the news would put Ban in better spirits.

Kazuki continued to keep his brown eyes locked onto Ban as the Jagan-master jerked away from him abruptly. Ban snapped something at Ginji in reply that Kazuki was too distracted to pay any attention to. He just watched as Ban stormed towards the door and jerked it open. One last glance was cast back towards Kazuki, and Kazuki thought he saw the same uncertainty and confusion in Ban's face that he'd earlier felt himself.

The door to the Honky Tonk swung closed as Ban disappeared inside, leaving Kazuki alone in the cold.

* * *

**Chapter Notes:** This chapter came surprisingly easy once I got it started. Not too much Ban/Kazuki interaction except at the end, but I'm trying to flesh things out to make it more believable rather than just toss them together. _Lyrics: "Everything" by Alanis Morissette_


	5. Perplexity II

**Title:** "My December"   
**Chapter:** 5?  
**Pairings:** Ban/Kazuki for now.   
**Disclaimer:** GetBackers and all associated characters are, unfortunately, not mine. Sue if you want, but I have no money anyway.   
**Warnings:** WOOT. I've earned my PG-13 rating now, I think. (Two guys making out on the floor of an apartment constitutes PG-13 in my mind, thanks.)  
**Notes:** his was written to be posted on the Ban/Kazuki LJ community (www (dot) livejournal (dot)com (slash) community (slash) echoesofwinter). Also, check out Ryuuen's C2 community for Ban/Kazu fics!

* * *

_/ Something just isn't right/  
/ I can feel it inside. /  
/ The truth isn't far behind me/  
/ You can't deny. /  
/ When I turn the lights out/  
/ When I close my eyes/  
/ Reality overcomes me. /  
/ I'm living a lie. /  
/ When I'm alone, I /  
/ Feel so much better. /  
/ And when I'm around you/  
/ I don't feel. /_

Somewhere between the Honky Tonk and Mugenjou, Kazuki stormed his way through the rain that had begun to fall shortly after he'd started to head home. At a few points, he was sure he could feel the onslaught of tears threatening to start. Not because he was upset, or hurt, but because he was angry and confused. He disliked anyone taking their bad moods out on him when he didn't deserve it. Any plans he'd had for the day felt ruined now thanks to that morning, so he just headed home.

Along the way his stomach gave a plaintive growl, an obnoxious reminder that he'd not eaten anything since the previous morning.He'd been so out of sorts at the Honky Tonk that'd he d not even gotten to the cup of coffee he'd seen Natsumi pouring for him. A mental note was made to apologize to her later.

After stopping by a vendor to get a warm drink, Kazuki felt a little better. The liquid warmed his insides, a drastic difference from the cold biting through his thin jacket. Thankfully he could stay under the awnings of buildings for most of the walk home and keep remotely dry. Never the less, once he arrived back at his apartment and shrugged out of his jacket, he was still in need of a new pair of clothes to replace the damp ones he was wearing.

From near the kitchen table, a low ring sounded. Kazuki stopped in his process of walking to his bedroom and looked over, noting the cell-phone sitting on one of the chairs. The same one Ban's jacket had been hanging on the previous night. His only guess was that it had fallen out of the coat pocket at some point, and been left behind.

Although his first instinct was to ignore the ringing, it continued for so long that Kazuki finally pattered over and picked it up, staring at the screen. The word "Ginji" was written on it. With a sigh, he turned the phone on and put it to his ear. "Hello?"

_"Kazu-chan?"_

"Yes, Ginji-san."

_"Ah, I'm glad!"_ And then Ginji turned partially away from his own phone to call to Ban next to him, _"Ne, ne, Ban-chan, Kazu-chan has your phone."_ If Ban replied, Kazuki couldn't hear it.

"He must have left it here last night. I can take it by Paul's tomorrow and drop it off, if you'd like?" Kazuki settled down in the chair, his free hand cupped around the warm drink he'd brought home with him.

_"We sort of need it for a job tonight... Eto... Would it be alright if we stopped by to get it?" _Ginji's voice sounded forever apologetic, and although the last thing Kazuki wanted was to have Ban in his apartment again, he couldn't very well turn his Raitei down.

"That'd be fine, Ginji-san... I'm sure Ban-kun remembers how to get here. Ah, wait, you got the car back?"

_"Yeah, only because our client tonight paid half of the money up front so we could get it out of impound - OW, Ban-chan! What was that for!" _

Somewhere in the background, Kazuki could make out Ban snapping that their financial status was no concern of the Threadspool's. Kazuki just glowered.

When the arguing between the two on the other side of the phone didn't cease, Kazuki just sighed and called out softly, "I'll see you in awhile, Ginji-san. Drive safely." And then he hung up and set the small phone on the table, staring at it as though he expected it to ring again. After a moment, he turned his attention back to the drink in front of him, which suddenly didn't seem very appealing any more.

_'Ban-kun was mad at me, so maybe he'll just send Ginji-san up to fetch the phone._' He drew in a long breath, stood, carried the cup into the kitchen to throw it away, and then went to change into some dry clothes.

* * *

"Ne, Ban-chan...?"

"Mn?"

"Are you really sure you're okay today...?"

"What?"

"You're just grumpier than usual. Even Natsumi-chan and Shido and Kazu-chan noticed this morning... Hevn-san and Paul, too."

"You just listed off everyone that was there, moron."

"Exactly, everyone noticed! So what's wrong?"

Ban glared over the top of the steering wheel, flexing his fingers on it. "Nothing. I'm just tired and hungry. The sooner we get my phone, the sooner we can work and get money, and the sooner we can go get a nice big meal some place."

Ginji blinked and tilted his head. "You were yelling at Kazu-chan this morning, did you two have another argument?" Though why Ban would be in a foul mood about that was beyond him.

The beetle came to a rather abrupt stop outside of Kazuki's apartment building, and Ban was scowling. "The yarnball has _nothing_ to do with it," he ground out.

Even though he said nothing further, Ginji kept his gaze locked onto his friend, brows knitted together in concern. Once he'd determined that Ban really wasn't going to tell him what was bothering him, he turned and looked straight ahead. "If you say so, Ban-chan."

"Tch'. Wait here." Ban opened the door and got out, making his way through the rain into the apartment building to head up a few floors.

* * *

The abrupt knock on the front door brought Kazuki stumbling out of the bedroom, still zipping up a pair of pants. He'd assumed Ban and Ginji were just leaving the Honky Tonk, but if they were there already, they must've been just a few streets away.

"Coming, Ginji-san, coming-" He reached out and pulled open the door, and came to a direct halt when it was Ban standing in his doorway and not the exuberant blonde.

Ban straightened, not hiding that his eyes were thoroughly looking over Kazuki's half-dressed body. "Yo'."

Kazuki fidgeted and slowly stepped back, opening the door wider. "Coming in?"

After casting a glance back down the hallway, Ban stepped inside. "Ginji's waiting for me."

"Of course... Ah, here." The string user retrieved the phone from its place on the table, holding it out. Ban's gaze studied the phone for a long moment, as though he didn't want to touch it. Or rather, he didn't want to touch Kazuki's hand while taking the phone from him. Kazuki noticed this, and a look of utter disgust crossed over his face as he shoved the phone at Ban and jerked the front door back open. "There. Now get out."

Ban blinked, staring down at the phone in his hands, and then at the open door... and finally, at Kazuki. "What's your problem?"

"I asked you the same thing earlier today, and got some weird response, remember? If you're done looking down at me, then get out!" There was an undercurrent of hurt to Kazuki's voice, and it made Ban feel bad. Not much, but just a little.

The Jagan-master scowled, absently tucking the phone into his shirt pocket. "I was just a little hung-over this morning. It made me irritable."

It wasn't an apology, which was the only thing that would have sated Kazuki at that point. "Get _out_, Midou."

"_Make_ me."

Both of them fell silent, glaring at one another. The tension in the room continued to build. Kazuki finally moved forward, grabbing the collar of Ban's shirt and starting to haul him out of the apartment and into the hallway.

He didn't get far when Ban brought a hand up, grabbing Kazuki's wrist and squeezing hard enough that the string's-master had no choice but to release the fabric between his fingers. Ban grabbed and caught hold of Kazuki's other wrist, and in one fluid motion, swept the other man's legs out from under him.

Kazuki cried out as his back hit the floor and Ban came down with him, still holding both his wrists and pinning them to the floor above his head. When he opened his eyes, Ban was looming over him, using both his legs to trap Kazuki's own. For someone who was no bigger than Kazuki himself, Ban was quite the immovable object. But that didn't stop Kazuki from squirming and trying to get the other man off of him.

"Midou Ban! Get off of me!"

"_Make me_."

Ban's voice had lost the earlier irritation, the venom that he normally held when dealing with any of the ex-Volts members. Nor did it sound amused or teasing. It held the faint sound of something that Kazuki couldn't place, and it was enough to make him stop struggling for a few seconds to look up at Ban in bewilderment.

A few seconds was all Ban needed to lean down the last few inches between them and press his mouth against Kazuki's in a bruising kiss. Kazuki's body stiffened, too shocked to do anything in retaliation. Ban's lips were cool and slightly wind-chapped, and when they met no resistance, his tongue easily worked its way into Kazuki's mouth. Ban tasted faintly of nicotine and something else that Kazuki suspected was just purely _him_.

For a brief moment, Kazuki considered returning the kiss. He wanted to lean up and play his tongue against Ban's, wrap his arms around the other man to hold him close and keep him from pulling away.

Before he had a chance to do more than entertain that thought, the phone from Ban's shirt pocket gave a loud ring, breaking the silence as well as their kiss. Ban jerked back abruptly, panting softly. In a hurried, almost frantic movement, he shifted to hold both of Kazuki's wrists with only one hand, while the other retrieved the phone from his pocket and turned it on. When he spoke into it, his voice was just shy of steady.

"What?"

"Ban-chan? You've been up there a long time, is everything okay?"

As he spoke, Ban's eyes never left Kazuki, who was flushed and seemingly dazed. "Everything's fine, Ginji. I'll be right down." The phone was abruptly turned off. Without another word, Ban released Kazuki and stood up, stepping away and looking down at him. The string's-master was a sight to see right then; his hair was loose and hanging in a beautiful mess around his flushed face, and those chocolate eyes were staring up at Ban in a sort of wonderment.

Ban quirked a grin. It was a shame that Ginji was waiting for him outside.

"Catch you later, _itomaki_." With that, he disappeared into the hallway, closing the door behind himself.

Kazuki still lay on the floor, staring up at the ceiling through glazed eyes.

* * *

Back outside, Ginji was frowning as his best friend got back into the car. "You were up there for awhile, Ban-chan. You and Kazu-chan weren't fighting again, were you?"

Ban looked over at him, licking his lips absently and smirking. "Not at all. In fact, I think we just came to a new understanding with one another."

* * *

**Chapter notes:** I kind of hurried things along in this chapter since a few people were wanting to see at least a kiss. So, here you go. One or two people also poked curiously as to why Ban was so... uh... PMS-y. I always thought that Ban was the type of person to get irritable and lash out at people when he was either angry (duh), upset, or embarrassed. He was probably a bit embarrassed and annoyed with himself for climbing into bed with someone that he's _supposed_ to hate, and as a sort of "I'm proving that I don't like you by being extra mean to you", he was a little meaner than usual. Obviously at the end of this chapter, he changes his attitude pretty damned quick. Don't worry, it'll make sense soon, since Kazuki's just as confused as a few of the readers are (It's supposed to be that way. heart).

_Lyrics: "Together" by Avril Lavigne_


	6. Shopping Trip

**Title:** "My December"  
**Chapter:** 6?   
**Pairings:** Ban/Kazuki. Hinted Toshiki/Kazuki in this chapter (if you look hard enough.)  
**Disclaimer:** GetBackers and all associated characters are, unfortunately, not mine. Sue if you want, but I have no money anyway.  
**Warnings:** PG-13-ish, just to be safe. Consider this fic spoiler-filled, just in case.   
**Notes:** his was written to be posted on the Ban/Kazuki LJ community (www (dot) livejournal (dot)com (slash) community (slash) echoesofwinter). Also, check out Ryuuen's C2 community for Ban/Kazu fics!

* * *

_/ So quick to point the finger/  
/ When you're the source of your condition. /  
/ Why should I feel sympathy/  
/ When you only show me nothing. /_

Kazuki had a fantastic plan of getting off the floor and calling Ban's cell-phone to yell at him. In fact, he stayed on the floor for a good twenty minutes, plotting out every single word and obscenity he wanted to use. Unfortunately, once he was on his feet with phone in hand, he realized his plan had a few flaws, the main one being that he didn't know Ban's number. He could have called Ginji's phone and asked to speak to Ban, but the moment Ginji would have answered the phone, Kazuki knew all his anger would vanish. So much for that.

It felt odd to just go about his business as though nothing had happened. Rather than reading or making himself dinner - despite how hungry he was - the string-user settled onto the couch and made an evening of glaring at the television. The phone stayed right beside him, just in case either of the GetBackers called. Not that they had reason to, but just in case.

When midnight rolled around and the phone had been silent the entire time, Kazuki gave up and turned in. He would just have to wait for his chance to yell at Ban. It would give him a bit more time to think of what to say without making himself sound incoherent and flustered like he currently felt.

Lying there that night, Kazuki noticed that his bed felt awkwardly empty.

* * *

Kazuki had found a new method of torture. Pin a man to the floor, kiss him, and then avoid him and see how long it takes said man to go insane.

Okay, so maybe Ban wasn't _avoiding_ him, per say. But he certainly wasn't around the Honky Tonk as much as usual over the course of the following week.

Kazuki talked to very few people. While he had many friends, he had always been the one that others came to for advice. He wasn't particularly close to Shido, and felt awkward trying to talk to him at times about personal things... While he could confide in Juubei on certain issues, it was often hard to get advice from his childhood friend. Juubei's first and foremost thought was Kazuki's safety. Had Kazuki told him what had gone on with Midou Ban... Well, chances were Juubei wouldn't have taken it well.

His other friends also weren't great sources for advice. MakubeX was intelligent beyond belief when it came to computers and math, but regarding social issues, he wasn't one to turn to. Emishi couldn't talk seriously about much of anything, Ginji had his own problems and Kazuki didn't want to bother him with more... There was always Toshiki... But considering their past together, he would have been a poor choice to speak to about relationships of any kind.

That left him with no one. Which was bad, because he could have really used some advice or even just someone to listen to him. Instead, over the course of the following week, Kazuki remained painfully quiet and kept his thoughts to himself while they slowly ate away at him.

Thankfully, Hevn kept him busy and distracted with jobs. Some with Shido, some not. Kazuki was not a retrieval agent; he was a source of never-ending information, a guide, a walking address book and map, an _annaiya_. If anyone wanted information, they called Kazuki of the Strings to get it. Anything he didn't already know, he could find out. And everybody, it seemed, needed information about something or other.

Because of that, Kazuki managed to keep busy. The few times he happened by the Honky Tonk, neither of the GetBackers were there. At first Kazuki was relieved that he wouldn't have to speak with Ban. Towards the end of the week, however, he grimly noticed that he was growing more and more disappointed everytime he walked into the cafe and found it empty. Natsumi informed him that they were getting more jobs than usual; Kazuki believed it. It did seem that businesses of all kinds picked up this close to Christmas. In the meantime he managed to keep his sanity by engrossing himself in job after job throughout the week.

But once the jobs were done and he returned home at night, he still found that his mind wandered back to a few days prior when Ban had been standing there in his doorway, half-soaked and smirking. And every night, he sulked over it just a bit. If he didn't find Ban and yell at him soon, he'd lose all his courage to do so.

Thankfully, Friday proved to be jobless. It meant Kazuki could take himself to a nearby bookstore and enjoy a cup of coffee while reading for an hour or three. Afterwards, he headed across town to the Honky Tonk, where he perked slightly at the sight of Ban's beloved Ladybug parked outside.

Upon entrance, however, he found that Ban was nowhere in sight. Kazuki's shoulders slumped a little.

Sitting at the counter, a blonde head lifted and turned, the voice accompanying it bright and cheerful. "Kazu-chan!"

Well, at least Ginji was there. Kazuki approached him, smiling warmly. "Good afternoon, Ginji-san." And then, because he couldn't help it, "Where's Ban-kun?"

Ginji hunkered down a bit, frowning. "He's passing out flyers again. I already finished with mine, so I figured I'd just wait here for him to come back."

From behind the counter, Natsumi muffin-sighed to herself, "Poor Ban-san... Working on his birthday..."

Kazuki had opened his mouth to reply to Ginji, but stopped and looked to Natsumi. When she seemed to be now occupied with drying dishes, his gaze returned to Ginji.

"Birthday?"

The blonde wibbled a bit, looking sheepish. "Aa. It's Ban-chan's birthday... But..."

"But?" Kazuki blinked, then tilted his head and smiled a bit. "I think I understand... You've been working more than usual this week because you wanted money to get him a gift."

Ginji lifted his bright eyes and nodded. "Yeah. But I still haven't found him anything. It's kinda tough to get away from him long enough to do shopping. Plus... I'm not very good at picking out gifts..." That statement made Kazuki remember back a few years to some of the gifts Ginji had gotten him for his birthday during the time of the Volts. They'd all been a bit silly, but Kazuki had loved all of them. Ginji may not have been good at getting 'neat' gifts... but he was fantastic at getting thoughtful ones.

"You know, what everyone says about 'it's the thought that counts' is true, Ginji-san. I'm sure Ban-kun will like anything you get for him." Kazuki settled down on the stool next to his friend, resting one elbow on the counter. His mind searched for the date... December seventeenth, wasn't it? He'd not realized Ban's birthday was only a few weeks before his own.

"I guess so." Ginji's frown deepened, and then suddenly smoothed as he stood abruptly and clutched the sleeve of Kazuki's jacket. "Ne, Kazu-chan! You could help me though, right?"

Chocolate eyes lifted to meet amber. "Help? How?"

Ginji started for the door, eagerly trying to tug the string's-master along with him. "You can come shopping and help me pick something out, ne, ne?"

Kazuki yipped as he half-fell off the stool, allowing the excited blonde to start pulling him off towards the door. He didn't even have time to protest.

Natsumi looked up as the door opened, and waved after them with a smile. "Have fun."

* * *

"This one! No, no... What about-? No, not that either..."

Kazuki sighed a little, huddling into the warmth of his thin jacket. Why was it that Ginji so rarely seemed to get cold even in the middle of winter?

They'd been shopping for almost three hours, going from the outside street vendors to the mall and every place in between. Kazuki was getting tired of being out in the snow. Even inside the small bookstore that they now stood in, it felt as though the owners wanted to keep it below zero to keep customers from staying too long.

"Ginji-san-"

"Hah! What about this one? I think Ban-chan reads stuff by this guy..." Ginji pursed his lips thoughtfully, flipping through the book in his hands.

Kazuki sighed. "Ginji san...?"

"Eh?" He looked up, blinking at his friend.

"I don't mean to interupt... But it's getting late. Won't Ban-kun be wondering where you are?"

Ginji blinked again, glancing to a clock on the nearby wall of the book store. His face seemed to pale a little at the realization of just how long they'd been out. "Aa..." With a sigh, he looked down at the book sulkily. "I guess this'll have to do." Continuing to mutter to himself, he turned and trundled to the register to pay. Kazuki headed outside to wait.

The smell of something cooking from a restaurant a few buildings away drew Kazuki a little ways down the sidewalk, breathing in deeply. His stomach growled. Really, he should have been learning to keep himself better fed. A danish and coffee in the morning just didn't hold him over for the entire day.

As he wandered towards the smell to see where it was coming from, he caught notice of something in the window of the store just next to the book shop. It seemed to be just a typical clothing store. A few winter items were on display, and one of the jackets seemed to hold his attention. It was simple black, collared, and designed to hang about mid-thigh... It was rather nice, and looked comfortable and warm as well.

As though to remind him that the coat he was wearing was far too thin, a breeze swept past and made him shiver. Too bad the seemingly comfortable jacket in the window would have looked silly on him.

_'It'd look nicer on someone like...'_

Scowling suddenly, Kazuki forced his brain not to finish that thought. Thankfully, Ginji chose that moment to come out of the book store and called to him. Dutifully, the string-user turned towards him and the two started back towards the Honky Tonk.

* * *

When they arrived, Ban was standing outside. A remainder of a cigarette hung lazily between his lips, and he removed it and flicked it to the ground as he saw the two approaching. "Where the hell have you been? I spent all afternoon passing out flyers by myself!" Despite his harsh tone, he didn't seem to be in a bad mood.

"I'm sorry, Ban-chan!" Ginji hurried over to him, grinning and holding out the bag with the book inside. Kazuki hung back a few feet, finding himself oddly irritated that Ban hadn't even acknowledged his presence.

Ban studied the paper bag and its logo, and then took it, pulling the book out from inside. "What's this?"

"You like that author, ne, ne? You kept talking about him and something about him dying and stuff." Ginji stared at him with hopeful eyes. Ban stared down at the book, then at Ginji. With a sigh, he quirked a small grin and lifted a heavy hand to ruffle the blonde's hair. It was a rare moment of affection that Kazuki was unused to seeing between them. It made him smile a little. At least Ban wasn't _always_ a jerk. ...Just eighty percent of the time.

"Thanks, Ginji. I'll start reading it tomorrow."

"Ah, you have to thank Kazu-chan, too! He helped me pick it out." Ginji stepped to one side, looking over at the thread-user with a smile.

Ban raised a brow, staring past Ginji. Kazuki fidgeted and looked down, embarrassed that Ginji had drawn attention to him. "No, I didn't, really... I was-"

"Thanks, _itomaki_."

Kazuki jerked his head back up. Ban was watching him with a look of almost mild curiosity. Though curiosity about what, Kazuki wasn't sure. "I didn't do anything, really..."

"You kept this idiot out of trouble, at least. So thanks for that." His gaze turned back to Ginji. "Where are you takin' me for my birthday dinner, anyway?"

And just like that, his attention drew away from Kazuki, and it was as if he didn't exist again. Kazuki felt a bit of a sinking feeling in his chest, and he wasn't sure whether to feel hurt or irritated that Ban was acting so casual towards him after what he'd done. He still wanted to 'talk' with Ban, but he wasn't going to do it outside of the cafe, nor in front of Ginji. And it seemed unfair to ruin Ban's birthday by getting into an argument with him.

With a small sigh, Kazuki hunched his shoulders and started for the door to head inside the Honky Tonk. Ginji was engrossed in talking to Ban, so he was as good as forgotten by them both for the moment. Or so he thought, at least. Ginji's voice called out to him.

"Ah- Kazu-chan, you were saying you were hungry. Why don't you come to dinner with us?"

The brunette paused with his hand on the door, looking over his shoulder.

Ban frowned, looking rather insulted. "Tch'. This is _my_ birthday, Ginji! What if I don't want thread-head tagging along?"

The insult stung a little more than usual. Kazuki half-lidded his eyes. Taking verbal abuse, no matter how small, was not on his list of things to do that night. He started to push on the door to continue inside, but Ginji grabbed the tail of his jacket and tugged gently to keep him from venturing further.

"But, Ban-chan... The other night, you said-"

Ban lurched forward and promptly clamped a hand over his mouth, twitching an eyebrow. "Eheh... I'm sure _Kazuki_ has better things to do than hear about our stupid conversations, Ginji."

"On the contrary," Kazuki's voice lowered a notch as he turned around, hands resting on his hips. "I'm quite curious now." Ban had been talking about him the other night? _The_ night? Kazuki felt his blood starting to boil as the anger he'd felt a few days prior returned.

Ginji squirmed until he managed to get half-free from Ban's grasp, just enough to be able to speak coherently. "But all you said, Ban-chan, was that you and Kazu-chan had come to a new understanding with each other."

Ban tensed. Kazuki narrowed his eyes. Ginji was looking back and forth between them, perplexed.

"I thought... that meant you two were getting along now... Am I missing something?"

"Not at all." Kazuki kept his slitted eyes locked onto Ban, who was doing his best to look anywhere but at the other brunette. "Though, if _Ban-kun_ doesn't mind, I think I _would_ like to accompany you after all." It was childish, completely childish. But Kazuki knew Ban would be on pins and needles all night if he came along to their little celebration, and that's just what Kazuki wanted.

Ginji clapped his hands together, looking positively thrilled.

The Jagan-master gritted his teeth and lifted his gaze then, giving Kazuki a dirty look. He knew perfectly well the other man was doing this to spite him, to get even with him for that kiss. But if he didn't let Kazuki come along, he'd be answering Ginji's prying questions about what was going on with him and thread-spool for the rest of the night. "It's more than alright. As long as you can pay for your own meal," he ground out with a forced grin.

"But of course." Kazuki offered him a dark smile.

Ban didn't imagine that Kazuki had killed too many people in his life, but the unfortunate few had probably seen a smile like that before dying. It wasn't a reassuring thought.

* * *

**Chapter 6 notes:** Lyrics from Anathema's "Pitiless". Longer-than-usual chapter, over 2,500 words. I figured since very, very little B/K interaction happens in this chapter, I'd let it stay long instead of cutting it and using the end for chapter 7. x.X This was also rewritten about five times. I just couldn't figure out how to get it to the point of Ginji and Kazuki going shopping without Kazuki interacting with Ban first. So... meh. I promise it'll pick up in the next chapter. .; 


	7. Think About Me

**Title:** "My December"  
**Chapter:** 7?  
**Pairings:** Ban/Kazuki. Later pairings, possibly.  
**Disclaimer:** GetBackers and all associated characters are, unfortunately, not mine. Sue if you want, but I have no money anyway.  
**Warnings:** PG-13-ish, just to be safe. Consider this fic spoiler-filled, just in case.  
**Notes:** This was written to be posted on the Ban/Kazuki LJ community (www (dot) livejournal (dot)com (slash) community (slash) echoesofwinter). Also, check out Ryuuen's C2 community for Ban/Kazu fics!

* * *

_/ You take a lot of chances with your feelings. /  
/ No one really knows what you feel. /  
/ And fiction is the only way you're dealing. /  
/ You turn your pretty head if it gets real... /  
/ Oh, you, you take it so slowly. /  
/ And your eyes look so lonely... /  
/ But it's only /  
/ When you think about me. /_

Ban's driving reminded Kazuki why he hated cars. They were big, dangerous machines, and any wrong move could have sent them skidding across the slick ground and right into another car. Or a building. Or any number of things. The poor brunette sat stiffly in the back seat, keeping his eyes shut tightly the entire ride.

Where they ended up was a tiny Western-styled restaurant clear across town. It seemed to be a family-owned place, the kind that never really got much publicity and therefore stayed quiet and small and ignored. Kazuki had always liked places like that. Large, ritzy restaurants just weren't his thing. Though he suspected the reason Ginji had chosen this place was for the price. Ban and Ginji had bad luck with money, so no matter how hard poor Ginji had worked the last week, he'd probably not managed to save up much for this special day. Not that Ban seemed to care. Food was food, and this place looked better than the usual places they were able to afford.

Ginji was out of the car before Ban and Kazuki even had their seatbelts unbuckled. They followed after the blonde, who was already almost in the door. When he disappeared inside, Kazuki tensed a little and glanced at Ban. Even the minute alone with him felt horribly awkward, and he tried to think of something to say.

"So..."

"So?" Ban didn't look at him.

"Did you really like the present Ginji-san got for you?" Okay, so it wasn't what he'd wanted to say, but...

"Sure." The younger man shrugged his shoulders, keeping his gaze focused on the door as they reached it. "I already have a copy of it."

Kazuki paused outside the door and looked to Ban. "Why didn't you tell him?"

"Would _you_ have?" Ban opened the door, returning Kazuki's look flatly. When Kazuki didn't answer, he just quirked a smile. "Didn't think so." He slipped inside, holding the door partly open so Kazuki could follow.

Inside, things were a bit dark. Both boys blinked a few times to let their eyes adjust. Ginji was standing just a few feet away, gesturing them closer.

A host led them to a booth in a far corner, and left them there with menus. Kazuki on one side of the booth, Ban and Ginji on the other. The two immediately started going on amongst themselves about how hungry they were and eagerly pointing things out to each other on the menu. Kazuki mused that they were like children in a candy store, though it wasn't all too surprising. The poor boys _did_ have to go hungry more often than not.

His gaze dropped to the menu and he opened it up to peek through it. The first thing he noticed was that _unagi_ cuisines. Ban would be pleased about that. As for himself... he hadn't expected to be eating anywhere other than home tonight, and hadn't brought much money. He'd need to eat cheap. Somewhere amidst the noise of his companions, he murmured that the _soba_ looked good enough.

Sure enough, Ban started pouring over the different servings of eel excitedly. It was a rare occasion to see him looking as child-like as Ginji usually did. Kazuki found it was making him smile, and he lifted his menu to try and hide halfway behind it.

Before too long, an older-looking waitress made her way to their table, all grey-hair and smiles. She didn't even get to ask what they wanted before Ginji was practically crawling on the table, pointing at a picture in the menu. Kazuki watched quietly as the two placed their orders. As expected, Ban got the _anago sushi_, while Ginji ordered the _yakitori_ and... well, they ordered quite a few things after that. By the time the waitress turned to Kazuki, her poor hand was developing a cramp from all the writing.

"And what can I get for you, Miss?" She faltered a bit after saying that, studying Kazuki a bit too obviously. When the string's-master wasn't speaking, it was rather hard to tell whether he was just a very girlish boy, or a very boyish girl. Kazuki lifted his head to look back up at her, blinking, and then blushing faintly and looking relatively uncomfortable.

Ban took the opportunity to lean forward, grinning widely as he spoke up. "_She'll_ have an order of _soba_."

The waitress smiled and wrote that down while Ban avoided Kazuki's cold glare.

Ginji added a few more things to his order; the waitress gathered up their menus and walked away. The moment she was gone, Kazuki barely resisted the urge to kick Ban's shin sharply beneath the table.

"That wasn't funny."

"Yes it was!"

"_Eto_... Kazu-chan, why didn't you correct her?"

Kazuki hunkered down in his seat slowly. "It's... rather embarrassing when things like that happen, Ginji-san..."

"Eeh? Has it happened before?"

"Just a few times." _'...too many,'_ he mentally added, and refrained from pointing out that Ban and Ginji themselves had mistaken him for a woman at a hot springs long ago.

Ban was laughing now, and this time, Kazuki didn't hesitate to kick him beneath the table. It got him to shut up, at least.

* * *

Dinner, thankfully, was enjoyed in relative silence. Save for Ginji's occasional whimpering and Ban's growling whenever they stole food from one another.

_'It's like taking children out to eat,'_ Kazuki mused.

"Eh, Kazu-chan? You didn't order much, are you sure you're full?" Ginji swallowed a mouthful of food only after he'd finished talking. Table manners at their finest, really.

"I'm alright." The brunette looked down at his empty dishes and the nothing that remained of his meal. He _was_ still a little hungry, but the _soba_ would take up what little pocket-cash he had with him.

"You're too thin," Ginji chided, "you really should eat more!" And he managed to say that even as he was shoveling more food into his mouth. Talented boy.

Kazuki lightly sipped at the cooling cup of peach tea. "I believe I weigh more than Ban-kun does, Ginji-san."

"Mm... But you're also taller than he is, too."

At that statement, Ban jerked his head up, almost choking on part of an eggroll. At least he had the manners to swallow his food before speaking. "He is not!"

Kazuki blinked and then hid a smile against the rim of his cup. "Yes, I am."

"No way in hell am I shorter than _you_ of all people! I'm not that much smaller than Ginji!"

"Eh... But Kazu-chan's the same height as I am," Ginji pointed out.

"Tch'! He's an inch taller then, _maybe_."

"It's your hair." Kazuki took another sip of tea before setting the cup down.

"Say _what_!"

"Your hair. It's so spiky that it gives off the impression that you're taller than you really are."

Ban started to growl. Ginji was trying not to giggle, and Kazuki merely smiled sweetly in Ban's direction.

After a moment, "...Tch'. Ginji's right, stringroller. You _do_ need to put on some weight." Ban's glare melted quickly into a smirk. "All your weight is in those nice hips of yours, afterall."

It was Kazuki's turn to glare. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. It's hard to tell sometimes with those loose shirts you always wear... Though if I had the body of a woman, I'd try and hide it too. But after wearing those pants of yours the other night, I can definitely say they felt like they were made for a woman's hips."

Ginji looked back and forth between the two, confused.

Seeing the murderous glare on Kazuki's face, Ban couldn't help but deliver the final blow. "You know it's true. You seemed to take an interest in how low they were hanging on me... _i-to-ma-ki_..." He leaned forward as he spoke, voice dropping to a low purr as he said that last sentence. The tone alone aided in Kazuki's reaction to follow.

The string's-master was deathly silent, and giving the phrase 'red as an apple' a whole new meaning. Had that last comment not left him so flustered, he'd have reached across the table and slapped Ban. As it were, he stood abruptly and hurried off to the bathroom without a word. Ban's laughter followed him the entire way.

Inside said bathroom, Kazuki went straight to the sink and proceeded to splash cold water on his face. When he finally looked up to meet the mirror, he was still flushed, and mildly surprised to see just how livid his expression was. But... he was justified in his anger, wasn't he? Ban had been accusing him of being as much of a pervert as _he_ was. Absolutely not! Kazuki had _not_ been staring that night. Not at all. He hadn't even noticed the smooth stretch of stomach and protruding lines of Ban's hips that probably wouldn't have been comfortable, but certainly _looked_ good-...

...Okay, so maybe he'd taken a look or two throughout that night. But they were just glances. Not stares. Glancing was not staring; there was a world of difference. And so what? Just because he didn't like Ban didn't mean he couldn't find him just a little bit attractive. There were lots of people that he wasn't romantically interested in that he found cute. Ginji-san, Shido (in his own wild, animal-sort of way), and Juubei was certainly handsome... So Ban had an... "okay" body. Big deal.

Kazuki took a long breath, absently wiping some of the water dripping down his face like fake tears. Once he'd calmed, he straightened and headed back out to the table.

* * *

"Mou, Ban-chan, are you sure you didn't hurt Kazu-chan's feelings? He looked upset." Ginji craned his neck to look towards the bathroom doors again.

"Threadspool is fine, Ginji." Ban, still smirking to himself, leaned back in his seat with an unlit cigarette between his lips, just waiting to be smoked. "The truth is embarrassing for some people sometimes, that's all." Ginji cast him a bit of a reprimanding look. Ban ignored it. It was _his_ birthday, and Kazuki had chosen to come along. Ban wouldn't allow Ginji to make him feel bad for simply stating the truth.

Ginji, meanwhile, practically crawled over the brunette to get out of the booth and go up front. "I'm paying for Kazu-chan's meal, too. As a thankyou for coming with us tonight." He called, disappearing from view before Ban could protest. Said Jagan-master just grunted and slowly started to get up. Tonight had been the first time in a long while that he'd had such a complete meal. It was a shame that they were so few and far between.

As he was rising and stuffing his hands in his pockets to head up front, he caught sight of Kazuki slinking his way back towards the booth. He smirked, rolling the cigarette from one corner of his lips to the other.

"Your face is still red, _itomaki_. Maybe you're running a fever."

"Be quiet." Kazuki's voice was warning and venomous. "You've done nothing but cause me headaches this last week. Why are you being such a... a..."

"Bastard?"

"That's too nice a word, but yes."

Ban studied him. Kazuki didn't understand how someone smaller than himself could still manage to make him feel so small. He was convinced Ban could look down at anyone, no matter how tall they were.

"Maybe because you're so funny when you're mad. Besides, you normally don't freak this much to my teasing." The Jagan-master raised a brow.

"Yes, well, before was different!" His voice was starting to rise. He was getting flustered again, and he had more of a tendency to yell when he was flustered as opposed to angry... Though anger wasn't far behind right then, either.

"Hn, why was it so different before?" Ban sounded amused and the tone only fueled Kazuki's irritation. He knew the answer perfectly well, but seeing the normally soft-spoken man get so worked up was far too amusing.

"B-because! Before you didn't randomly **_kiss_** me!" The last few words were almost shouted. It caused Ban to blink and glance around a bit. Kazuki continued. "I offered my home to you for a night to get you out of the rain; you insulted me the entire evening. You randomly start flirting with me; granted I'll chalk that up to you having too much to drink... And I even ignored the fact that you crawled into bed with me! But the next day..."

"...Threadspool."

"...You start treating me as though I have the plague or something. Then you come over to get your phone - which I bet you left at my place on purpose, you jerk -"

"I-to-ma-ki."

"I should have thrown the stupid thing out the window, but _no_. Because I'm a nice person. And then you... you _pin me down_-"

"_Kazuki_."

The frustrated thread-user stopped in mid-rant and dramatically threw his arms into the air. "What!"

Ban cleared his throat, casting a glance to either side of them. Kazuki stiffened, and slowly, very slowly, he lowered his arms and looked around. The few other groups of people in neighboring booths and tables had stopped what they were doing, and staring straight at Ban and himself. He swallowed hard, feeling the heat rushing to his cheeks. Ban would have guessed that Kazuki was blushing _all_ over.

It was unlike Kazuki to lose his temper, especially in public. But there he'd been, almost yelling at Ban, completely oblivious to the world around them. He felt like an idiot. When was the last time he'd lost his cool like that?

Ban turned a little to look straight at the small number of people watching them. Some of them quickly looked away, and others continued to stare, irritated that their meals had been interrupted by the dramatics. Ban's arm draped around Kazuki's shoulders and he grinned. "Sorry, folks. You know how women can get during certain times of the month." The statement got a few of the men to mutter in agreement. One wife elbowed her husband in retaliation.

Had Kazuki not been so angry, he might have realized that, in his own special (twisted) way, Ban had been trying to help, not further upset him. As it were, he was shaking in embarrassment. Without a thought, he smacked Ban's arm off of him, plucked the cigarette from the other's lips, and broke it into several tiny pieces before throwing them onto the table. Ban stared, open-mouthed, as though Kazuki had just ripped up a fivethousand yen bill. The taller brunette gave a satisfied 'hmph', and whirled around to head up front.

Ban stood there for several moments, still aware of the many pairs of eyes locked onto him. He forced a twitchy grin, chuckled a bit, and walked after Kazuki.

Up front, Ginji had started up a conversation with one of the cute waitresses who happened to be on her break. Kazuki breezed past him, and the blonde paused to watch his friend storm outside into the cold. Ban came strolling over a few seconds later, and hauled Ginji out of the restaurant by the back of his shirt.

* * *

The drive back to Kazuki's home was painfully awkward. Though if Ginji noticed, it didn't show. He kept leaning forward to get a better look at them, and babbling on about how they should go out for ice-cream, since Ban didn't have a birthday cake. Kazuki politely declined with the excuse that he was tired and had a job early in the morning. It was a partial-truth. He did indeed have a job on Saturday, but it wasn't until later in the afternoon. Ginji sulked, but it only lasted a few seconds before he continued on another tangent. The drive was even long enough that he eventually quieted down, and dozed off.

The other two remained silent. Ban focused on the road, and Kazuki focused on anything he could that was not in the car. Or so he tried. His eyes kept flicking to the rearview mirror, taking in Ginji's sleeping form. It was the first time in a long while that he'd been witness to Ginji sleeping. He'd forgotten how peaceful and innocent it made him look. It brought a smile to his face, and made him forget for a few seconds how irritating the rest of the evening had been.

"What're you grinning at?" Ban glanced over at him, noting the oddly contented look on the string-wielder's face.

Kazuki thought of telling him to mind his own business, but instead absently murmured, "Ginji-san. He looks so peaceful when he sleeps."

Blue eyes lifted to look in the mirror, and a smile touched his face as well. "Hn. Guess he does."

Silence fell back on them again, but this time it wasn't quite so tense. Kazuki settled a bit, resting his head against the cold window and watching some of the rain droplets race one another down the glass. Without so much of the tension floating around them, Kazuki was reminded of Ban sleeping beside him. This felt like that time... Safe. Calming, almost. It was a welcome feeling.

Once the ladybug pulled up in front of the old apartment building, Kazuki had almost dozed off himself. The car stopping and going into park jolted him from his almost-sleep, and he sluggishly went to unbuckling his seatbelt and opening the door. Once out, he was about to lean down and peer back in to at least thank Ban for the ride. It was only proper. But, Ban had unbuckled and gotten out as well and was circling the car to walk towards him.

"What're you doing...?"

"Nn? Well, I was going to walk you inside." Ban fished another cigarette out of his pocket to replace the one that Kazuki had earlier mutilated. Except this time he lit it and took a long drag, ignoring the slight face that Kazuki made in response.

"I'm a big boy, Ban-kun. I can go by myself."

"Eh, humor me. I wanna smoke anyway and Ginji whines at me if I do it in the car." He shrugged carelessly and started towards the building. It would have been stupid for Kazuki to stand there by the car, so he followed. Ban was even nice enough to hold the door open for him as he shuffled inside the warmth of the building, and the two lingered by the bottom of the stairs.

"...Thank you, I suppose." Though why he was thanking Ban for treating him like a helpless girl that needed to be escorted to her door was beyond him.

"Mn. Thanks for making my birthday memorable, _itomaki_. Later." Ban turned to head back out, pausing only at the sound of Kazuki's voice calling to him.

"Why did you kiss me?"

The question fell out of mid-air, and it took Ban a moment to process it and formulate an answer. "Seemed like a good idea at the time, I guess."

Kazuki's brows drew together. That was hardly an appropriate answer... But then again, what was? "A good idea at the time?"

"Eh, yeah." He shrugged again, a careless, simple gesture. "I felt like it, so I did it. And you didn't exactly put up a fight, surprisingly enough." His head turned enough so that his eyes could lock onto Kazuki, and a slow grin spread across his face. "Which makes me think you don't hate me as much as you pretend you do."

The string's-master opened his mouth to speak, and closed it again just as quickly. He took a breath before trying again. "I've never said I hated you, Ban-kun."

"Oh? What _do_ you think of me then?"

Another pregnant silence.

"I'm indifferent towards you, I suppose. I don't like you, but I don't dislike you, either." Really, how often had Ban and himself really sat down and talked... Had a 'normal' conversation like friends, or even acquaintances would do? Kazuki could think of only one or two instances. Most other times, Kazuki ignored Ban, and Ban ignored Kazuki. They'd barely existed to one another save for important situations.

For awhile, Kazuki would admit to resenting the other man. Ginji had left Mugenjou to follow Ban, and it caused problem after problem that Kazuki had been helpless to fix. Ginji had left him in charge of the Volts in his absence, but nobody cared to listen to someone other than the Lightning Emperor. It had been a sting to his ego (because he did indeed have one, despite what many thought), to no longer feel capable of commanding the way he had during the days of Fuuga. But over time, the resentment faded as Kazuki grew to realize that meeting Ban and getting out of Mugenjou was the best thing that could have ever happened to Ginji. And for himself. It had been so long since he'd been able to do anything on his own, and while the independence had been frightening when he'd first left, Kazuki didn't think he could go back to living in Infinite Fortress with his two faithful 'watchdogs' again. It was far too smothering.

"I answered it for you, so what do _you_ think of _me_?"

Ban considered that carefully, taking a slow drag off the cigarette and holding it in his lungs. "You're a snobbish, awkward, good-goody, girly prude." He exhaled, and the smoke went with it. "But... You aren't monkey trainer, or half the other idiots that make up Ginji's old crew, so you ain't half-bad."

The other quirked a small smile. Ban made it sound like a compliment somehow, and it was awkward and nice at the same time. "Thank you, I think."

"Does that mean you forgive me for the other night?" He raised a brow, grinning a bit and moving to lean back against the door. Before Kazuki had a chance to answer him, said door swung open, sending Ban toppling backwards rather ungracefully and sprawling to the ground, half in and half out of the building.

Kazuki blinked. Stared. And without meaning to, burst out laughing. Seeing Ban lying there in a daze while he tried to figure out why and how he'd ended up on the ground was priceless. He laughed even harder when Ban started cursing and got up, kicking at the door as though it were all its fault for not closing all the way. Kazuki's laughter caught his attention and he glanced back at the strings'-master, scowling. "And on that note... I'm outta here before Ginji wakes up and freaks out about me being gone." He grumped and kicked the door a final time to open it.

"...Ne, Ban-kun?"

Hand on the knob, Ban glanced back a final time, met with a smile from Kazuki, who was still trying to stop laughing completely. "Hm?"

The giggles ceased, and Kazuki took a set of graceful steps backwards, up a few steps of the stairs. "I forgive you," he said softly, and turned to hurry up the steps before Ban could reply. The Jagan-master watched him go, smirked a bit to himself, and made his way back outside to the car.

* * *

**Chapter Notes:** Lyrics from "Think About Me" by Goo Goo Dolls. "Anago sushi" is a type of saltwater/conger eel, mentioned in one of the anime episodes as being one of Ban's favorites. 


	8. Pure Morning

**Title:** "My December"  
**Chapter:** 8?  
**Pairings:** Ban/Kazuki. Later pairings, possibly.  
**Disclaimer:** GetBackers and all associated characters are, unfortunately, not mine. Sue if you want, but I have no money anyway.  
**Warnings:** PG-13-ish, just to be safe. Consider this fic spoiler-filled, just in case.

* * *

_/ Standing on the edge of time/  
/ Playing out a reckless pantomime/  
/ And every day's another wrong to rectify. /  
/ I dream about a stranger's touch/  
/ And voices in my head I cannot hush. /  
/ And every night's a hunger I can't satisfy. /  
/ It's the secret that I keep/  
/ It's the ache that makes me weep/  
/ And I know I'm in too deep/  
/ I'm gonna drown. /_

Saturday proved to be an absolute fun-fest. Kazuki made mental note that if he ever worked for this particular client ever again, to charge double his normal price. Information gathering was, generally, far easier than being a retrieval agent. However there were exceptions. Like when your client neglects to inform you that the info you're to retrieve has to do with illegal testing on humans and is being kept in a secured building. Or that he'd have to sneak in, interrogate a man, and almost get himself killed in the process. None of those things were in his job description.

The man that he ended up corning in an office on the second floor really wasn't too hard to deal with. For all his delicacy and primness, Kazuki had been called the Prince of Battle Terror in Mugenjou for a reason. That same reason made him feared, some would say second only to Raitei, once upon a time. He idly wondered in the back of his mind if anyone still remembered the name Kazuki of the Strings.

So, Kazuki got to interrogate a man who begged for his life, unaware that Kazuki had no real intention of taking it. He gave in, offered the access codes to doors and elevators throughout the building, and Kazuki left him bound with threads and locked away in a storage closet. How long he remained there before someone found him was not Kazuki's concern.

He made his way up the elevators. It would have been possible to do without the codes, but Kazuki wasn't too keen on climbing elevator shafts and breaking down doors while alerting the entire building of his presence. Already, dealing with the guards that showed up once in awhile was proving to be a nuisance. He disliked guns. He disliked the loud sounds they made, and he disliked them even more then they were in the hands of his enemies.

On the seventh floor, he stepped out of the elevator and gave a cautious glance in either direction. He headed right. The client had provided him with a map prior to accepting the job. Kazuki had easily committed it to memory, finding it useless to carry a piece of paper around with him. It would only prove to be a distraction. Juubei had many a time marveled at Kazuki's near photogenic memory. To the string's-master, it was just a natural talent that came in handy at times like these.

Two hallways left, a sharp right, go the T in the hallway, make another right... And an access code went into the door at the far end of that hall, after which it easily swung open. So far, so good. Inside, he quickly located the cameras and tore them down with the help of his threads. Once the guards watching in the camera feed in the surveillance room a few floors down noticed that the cameras were out, they'd come running. Kazuki would need to hurry. As good a fighter as he was, not even he could withstand a bullet to the head if he slipped up while going against a group of armed men.

The soft glow of a computer monitor in the corner caught his attention and he hurried to it. The eerie light reminded him vaguely of the control room in Mugenjou, where most hours MakubeX would have been sitting at the keyboard, clacking away at an inhuman speed. Kazuki pulled over a nearby chair and took a seat, setting to work.

* * *

_"It's late, Ginji-san... Can't you sleep?" _

_The blonde lifted his head, amber eyes heavy and tired. "Ahn... I'm alright. I was just watching the cameras for a bit..." He gestured to the many computer screens, which occasionally flicked to different locations around Mugenjou's lower town. Cameras that had to be replaced far too often, unless they were hidden well enough. The ones located near the Belt Line were always the first to go. _

_"You've not been sleeping much this week." Kazuki settled down beside his friend and commander, as though standing over him were rude. Ginji lowered his head again, frowning. "It would figure you'd be the one to notice." _

_"I'm sure the others do, too. I'm just the only one brave enough to ask you about it." _

_Ginji said nothing, eyes fixated on the screen in front of him, despite that the camera's view showed nothing but dark alley. "Ne, Kazu-chan..." he murmured after a moment. _

_"Ginji-san?" _

_"Could I ask something of you?" _

_Kazuki smiled. Ginji should have known well by now that Kazuki was his to command. But regardless, whenever he needed anything of importance, he always asked, never ordered. "Of course." _

_"If something were to happen to me..." He paused, frown deepening, "...If I weren't capable of leading the Volts anymore... I'd want you to take my place and finish what we've started." _

_He was met with silence, and had to look over at Kazuki to make sure the other man had heard him. Kazuki was staring at him incredulously. "You're asking me to be your second in command?" His words were slow, as though worried of offending if he had indeed misunderstood. But a nod of Ginji's head confirmed that he had heard correctly. The brunette wanted to ask him a million things; why request something like this so suddenly? Ginji wasn't going anywhere... was he? And then... why him? It was true that he'd led Fuuga before joining the Volts, and his name was known around Mugenjou as well as Raitei's was. But Fuuga was nothing compared to the Volts. Nothing at all. Didn't Ginji realize that choosing him to possibly take his place would not sit well with the other three Kings? In the end, however, Kazuki asked nothing. Instead he reached out to his Raitei, drew the other man down into his lap, and began to comb delicate fingers through blonde spikes. It was not his place to question his leader. _

_Ginji stared up at the string's-master, eyes half-lidded and questioning. Kazuki gazed down at him, offering a smile. _

_"As you wish, Ginji-san." _

* * *

It was odd how a memory could enrapture a person so completely, while the other parts of the brain kept the body running on autopilot. The beeping of the computer brought him back to reality, and he scolded himself for being so careless as to start reminiscing at a time like this. He'd wasted too much time.

The computer's beep has been a signal that the files had finished copying onto the disk Kazuki had inserted. Said disk was plucked from its drive, and Kazuki stood. If he could safely get out of the building from there, he would consider not verbally tearing his clients apart later.

But as he started for the door, the sound of footsteps and voices falling nearby alerted him that, no, getting out was not going to be particularly easy.

* * *

"Are you sure you don't wanna come with me, Ban-chan? You know MakubeX and the others won't mind."

Ban waved a hand dismissively, taking a long drag from his cigarette with the other. "Told you, I've no interest in hanging around persocom-boy, or any of the others for that matter."

Ginji finished pulling some of the clothes from the trunk of the beetle, lifting his head to cast a glance at his best friend. "But at least we'll have a warmer place to sleep. It's been getting so cold out."

"Like I'm not used to sleeping in the cold by now." Ban stepped away from the car, discarding the cig on the sidewalk and grinding it out with the heel of his shoe. "Just go. Have fun and all that junk. There's a job scheduled tomorrow night anyway, and we need to money too bad to just cancel it."

"It's alright...? To do it alone?" The blonde sighed, casting a glance back at the doors to Mugenjou, then returning his gaze back to Ban.

Ban stuffed his hands into his pockets, grinning widely. "The invincible Midou Ban-sama can do anything, with or without a partner. It's just boring as all hell without you there. Now get going. You're already running late."

Ginji's expression softened into a smile, and he nodded. "I'll call you later, Ban-chan." With that, he turned and headed towards the entrance to Infinite Fortress. Ban stood and watched until he disappeared inside.

It was sad, really, how the missing presence of his partner could depress him so suddenly.

* * *

By the time the handful of guards tore through the door, Kazuki had taken his escape out the window. He stood, pinned against the wall and trying desperately not to slip off of the horribly narrow ledge. The rain still pounding outside made his task even more difficult, and his body trembled faintly with the effort of keeping his balance. He kept his head slightly turned, eyes locked on the window he'd crawled from. If one of the men came too close, they would spot him for sure. Kazuki swallowed hard, casting a look down. Bad idea. While heights didn't particularly bother him on any other occasion, anyone stuck on a slick, seven-inch-wide ledge with nothing but pavement to catch their fall would have been scared.

Slowly he began moving sideways, away from the window. The corner wasn't too far away, and from there, the building next door would be within distance for him to jump. Said neighboring building was a small, two-story office. The drop from seventh floor to second was not a pleasant idea, but it beat dropping straight to the cement. The other roof was sloped and smooth, so he'd need to be careful. Rain did not make for good traction.

As he inched closer to a spot he thought he could safely jump from, a shout from not too far away caught his attention and almost surprised him into losing his footing. He caught himself at the last second, body tensing. A gunshot sounded, and the feeling of a bullet zinging far too close to his head for comfort startled him into making his jump too sudden. His feet left the small ledge as he half-jumped, half-fell towards the neighboring rooftop. More shots were fired, but thankfully none hit their mark.

Just shy of landing on the rooftop, Kazuki made the mistake of closing his eyes. His feet hit the sloped surface and slipped out from beneath him. He landed hard on his back, sliding head-first off the rooftop. It was a hard fall as he smacked into the pavement of the alley below, barely managing to twist so that he landed on his side. His vision whited out for a few moments as he tried to relearn how to breathe.

Rolling over slowly, he used the wall of the building to help himself up. However, once weight was put on his left foot, a searing pain shot all the way up his leg and into his hip. The entire left side of his body was aching. Nothing felt broken, but he was bleeding and the pain was going to make it difficult to run. Upon hearing voices hollering from around the building's corner, he quickly turned and half-limped further into the alley. Trying to get out into the street would have been suicide.

Somewhere down the line, a wire fence separated Kazuki from safety. Had he full mobility, he could have cleared the fence in an easy jump. As it were, he started climbing, which proved to be difficult with only one arm and one leg wanting to function without severe pain. By the time he'd reached the top, more bullets were being fired in his direction, far too close for comfort. He rolled forward, releasing the fence and dropping to the ground on the other side. Pain shot up his injured side and he hissed, stumbling as he tried to straighten up and continue running. He could have cut through the fence, but if the guards had to climb it as well it would buy him some time.

Apparently some of the men had been smart enough to circle around the building and enter the alley from the other side in order to trap Kazuki in the middle. There were only three of them... Which beat the odds of the eight or nine still clambering to get over the fence. The three guards stopped when the string's-master came into view, raising their guns and firing. Even injured, Kazuki was quick enough to dodge through their fire, and reached up with his right hand for one of the bells jingling in his hair.

_'It can't be helped.'_

Lurching forward, he sent out a cluster of threads at his attackers, knocking the guns from their hands and sending two of them to the ground. The third blinked down at his empty hands, and then lunged for Kazuki, swinging a fist at the brunette's face. Kazuki side-stepped, putting his weight on his good leg while spinning a kick into the man's back that sent him sprawling face-first to the pavement. The action didn't go without pain, and it hurt even more to resume his escape.

Somewhere just outside of the alley, Kazuki stopped and turned. The yelling was still coming closer, but he had time to weave his threads across the opening to the alley, leaving behind a spider's web of sorts. No one would be able to get through it without a missing limb or severe blood loss. He then hurried off down the street, going as fast as his aching limbs would carry him.

And twenty minutes later, while the guards were still trying to get through the web, and others were circling around the building, Kazuki was long-gone, headed off to meet his client.

_'Yes,'_ he thought irritably, _'next time, I charge double.'_

* * *

It was late by the time he'd met with his client and crawled his way home. The client had offered to arrange a ride for him, but Kazuki made it a point to let very few people know where he lived. Paranoid, perhaps, but he'd always been a fan of the motto, 'better safe than sorry'.

Inside, he was greeted with the usual silence. It was rather lonely to come home to absolutely nothing, and in his already unhappy state, opening the door and calling out softly, "I'm home..." to an empty apartment felt unusually depressing. He'd often thought about getting a pet for company, but... he didn't have the time for a puppy... training it and taking it for walks... Fish weren't much company, birds were too loud... A cat would have been his animal of choice, but even then he just didn't think he'd have the time nor energy to care for it properly.

The moment the door was shut, he set to crawling out of his clothes, determined to get a shower and then clean up some of the cuts and scrapes. The blood had stopped and dried, but the wounds still stung as all wounds do when they're lined with dirt and gravel. Inside the bathroom beneath the water, they stung more as the heat cleansed them. Kazuki leaned against the shower wall, pressing his cheek against the cool tile. The sting slowly ebbed away, leaving behind the dull ache, more painful in a few choice places where bruises were already starting to form. He'd been through much, much worse and still kept walking, but that didn't make _this_ situation any less pleasant.

Absently, he lifted his hand to look at it. The cut across his palm from the other night - the night that Ban had stayed over - was still slightly red and perfectly visible. But it was healing nicely, and probably wouldn't even leave much of a scar.

_"...Be more careful next time."  
"B-Ban-kun..."   
"...I mean, things like this wouldn't happen if you weren't drooling over me so much, itomaki." _

A faint blush rose to his cheeks. He quickly shrugged it off as the water being too hot, and scolded himself for thinking of someone like Ban at a time like this.

_'At a time like this... Is there ever a time that it would be 'appropriate' to think about him?'_ He sighed a little, reaching down to turn off the shower. He stood there, watching the water run down the drain. _'Impertinent, arrogant, vulgar man... Just because he's a little attractive, and he can occasionally be nice - and that kindness is never directed towards anyone but Ginji-san anyway...'_

_"Ban...?"  
"Go t'sleep, Kazuki..."_

Kazuki's blushed darkened. He straightened up and threw the shower curtain open, stepping out and reaching for a towel.

_'Ban-kun really isn't a good person... What kind of man randomly crawls into bed with someone in the middle of the night, and then acts so coldly to them the next day?_

_"Midou Ban! Get off of me!"  
"Make me."_

...And then there was the memory of Ban pinning him, holding him down. The weight of his lanky body pressing down against Kazuki, and then lips meeting in a kiss that hadn't been at all gentle or affectionate or loving... It was just a kiss. A stolen one, at that. But if that had been their first and last kiss shared, Kazuki regretted not having kissed him back.

And then he mentally kicked himself for daring to think such a thing. The blush hadn't faded from his face even after he'd dried off, applied some ointment to his wounds, dressed, and crawled into bed. After feeling what it had been like that one night... having that warm body curled around him... it felt awkward to sleep alone for some reason. Kazuki curled himself around one of his pillows as per usual, nestling his face against it.

Thankfully, he was too tired to stay awake dwelling on things for much longer.

* * *

"Master! Bag up some bagels and a few danishes for me, would you?"

Paul grumbled a small response, something along the lines of the GetBackers tab racking up even more... He waved a hand at Natsumi, however, and she set to bagging up a few things. "Just for you today, Ban-san?"

"Nah," Ban took a seat at the counter, fumbling around in his wallet for the minimal amount of cash he had stored there, "make it enough for two, Natsumi."

From a few seats down, a certain beast-master had been idly sipping his coffee. Grey eyes flicked towards Ban, eyeing him warily. "...Isn't Ginji in Mugenjou today?"

"Yup." Ban tossed a few bills on the counter, which Paul snatched up right away as though afraid it would disappear if he didn't. Ban and Ginji's money supply had a bad habit of disappearing one way or another, after all.

"Then why food for two?"

"Just 'cause Ginji's gone doesn't mean I don't have someone else to eat breakfast with."

Shido grunted at that and looked away. After a few moments of silence, something inside his head clicked and he turned back towards Ban quickly. "Wait a minute..." He received no response from Ban, who was already taking the bag from Natsumi with a thankyou and heading for the door. Shido stood quickly and abandoned his coffee to hurry after. "OI!"

The door swung shut behind them. This time Ban paused to look back at the taller man. "What is it, monkey tamer? I don't have time to play with you."

Shido scowled. "You're going to Kazuki's place, aren't you?"

Ban idly plucked a cigarette from his shirt pocket, twirling it between his fingers in a thoughtful manner. "What of it?"

"You're not actually taking what I said _seriously_, are you?" There was the slightest bit of worry to his voice, masked with irritation.

"Hn." The Jagan-master tilted his head, seeming to consider as an idle smirk played across his lips. "If I recall correctly, you didn't think I could do it anyway, so what're you so worried about?"

"I'm worried that you're going to do something stupid and get a certain someone hurt." Shido's voice lowered a notch, a small growl hinging to it. "Leave him alone."

Blue eyes rolled behind purple lenses, and Ban turned to walk away.

"Midou!"

Ban paused, but didn't look back. "Some words of advice for you, monkey tamer: Don't ever dare me to do something unless you mean it. I don't back down from dares easily."

With that, he tucked the cigarette between his lips and headed off down the street. Shido stayed behind, growling darkly.

* * *

It wasn't the alarm clock that woke Kazuki. The loud, obnoxious noise resounding in his ears made the string's-master roll over, groping for the clock. When smacking his hand onto the top of it didn't silence the sound, he woke up a little more and realized that it was actually the phone ringing in the living room. He tried to ignore it at first, rolling back over and pulling the blankets over his head. It felt horribly early still, and he was tired. Whoever wanted to get ahold of him could wait.

...Or not. The phone continued to ring. In a bit of a fit, Kazuki threw the blankets back and stumbled into the living room. The pain in his leg was still sharp and aching, throwing a slight limp into his steps. He grabbed for the cell-phone on the counter and hit the button to turn it on. His tone was not pleased.

"Hello?"

_"Yo."_

Kazuki blinked a few times, the irritation melting from his voice. "...Ban-kun?"

_"Are you busy?"_

"N... No... Isn't it early...?" Kazuki glanced at the clock on the wall, squinting at the small numbers and the proceeding to rub the sleep from his eyes. Barely eight a.m., not really _early_, but considering how late he'd gone to bed the previous night...

_"If you just woke up, then you haven't eaten yet, right?"_

"Correct." He sighed and took a few steps forward, turned, and leaned against the back of the couch. He was tempted to just hang up, unplug the phone and return to bed... But something about the other man's voice being so casual towards him was calming, and made him smile a little.

_"Care to join me for breakfast?"_ There was the faintest hint of mischievousness to Ban's voice, a tone that made Kazuki worry a little.

"If you're wanting me to cook breakfast for you, then forget it. I had a long night."

_"Have a hot date or something?"_

"Hardly. Not that it's any of your business." A knock on the front door distracted Kazuki momentarily from the phone call. He pushed away from the couch and made his way towards it. "Call me later if you want, but I need to go. Someone's at the door."

_"Wait, one more question."_

Kazuki paused just in front of the door, sighing in exasperation. "What?"

He could practically _hear_ Ban grinning through the phone, if that were possible. _"What're you wearing?"_

"...Goodbye, Ban-kun." He hung up the phone, cheeks a bit red, and tossed it onto the kitchen table nearby.

Upon hearing another, more impatient knock, Kazuki hurried over and unlocked the door, pulling it open. "I'm sorry, can I-" He stopped short, and his smile faltered into a confused expression.

Ban stood there in the hallway, cell-phone in one hand, a bag of food in the other. He offered Kazuki one of his winning smiles, winking at him. "Good morning."

* * *

**Chapter notes:** oo I love asshole!Ban, yes I do. If you have an idea of what he and Shido were talking about, kudos for you. And don't hate me for it. ; Trust me, I know what I'm planning. 


	9. First Date?

**Title:** "My December"  
**Chapter:** 9?  
**Pairings:** Ban/Kazuki. Later pairings, possibly.  
**Disclaimer:** GetBackers and all associated characters are, unfortunately, not mine. Sue if you want, but I have no money anyway.  
**Warnings:** PG-13-ish, just to be safe. Consider this fic spoiler-filled, just in case.

* * *

_/ So you say, I'm too quiet/  
/ Holding things up in my head. /  
/ I say so much, but you don't buy it/  
/ I don't want to wake up /  
/ Alone in my head. /  
/ Say that you'll never go now/  
/ Don't go, don't go... /_

"You look like hell."

"Thank you for noticing." He waited for Ban to come in, closing and locking the door behind him. Ban strolled into the dining room, tossing the bag of food onto the table. Despite his fatigue and soreness, Kazuki came to the conclusion that he _was_ indeed hungry and crept closer to examine the contents of the bag. Inside was a small variety of doughnuts and danishes. "Did you know that I liked danishes, or was it just a lucky guess?"

"Would you be impressed if I said I knew?" Ban grinned a bit, shrugging out of his all-too-thin jacket. He started to sit down and paused, glancing towards the kitchen. Kazuki lifted his head a bit, suddenly embarrassed. "Ah... I'm sorry. I forgot to offer drinks; what would you like?" He started to get up but Ban waved a hand at him dissmissively.

"Sit your ass back down, _itomaki_. You look like hell and you probably feel even worse." The younger man headed into the kitchen, prowling around to find what he needed to make coffee. Kazuki sank back down into his chair, frowning. He wasn't _that_ sore, and he couldn't look that bad, either... Though upon examining his left arm and leg, he noticed that there were a good number of dark bruises lining his skin. He was thankful he'd managed not to split his skull wide open with that fall last night. He needed to be more careful.

From inside the kitchen came the sounds of Ban opening cabinets, moving stuff around, and fighting with the coffee maker. Kazuki quirked a smile but didn't offer his help. Once silence fell over the apartment again, he found the urge to speak. "I appreciate you bringing food, even if the visit was a little sudden, but..." he hesitated, not wanting to sound rude by asking, "where's Ginji-san?"

Ban's voice called out to him, "Mugenjou. Persocom-boy gave us a call yesterday morning asking if Ginji would mind coming by for a few days. Guess he had some sort of plans or something that he wanted a second opinion on. I swear, even now that place would fall apart without him."

Kazuki leaned forward, resting his chin in one hand and half-lidding his eyes. "Makubex is still a child yet. He requires Ginji-san's guidance to help him with the things he's unsure of. He's taking on a very large task, trying to reform Mugenjou all on his own. I'm just surprised he's swallowing his pride and asking for help."

Silence came from the kitchen. Kazuki suspected Ban was giving in for now and not pushing the subject farther. That surprised Kazuki, seeing as Ban usually seemed to be itching for an argument with him. However, if Ban didn't feel like picking fights today, Kazuki would be more than grateful. But he was still curious...

"Why didn't you go with him?"

"Tch'. Like I have any interest in hanging around his old gang. Know-it-all Persocom-boy... Your two watchdogs... Not to mention that washed-up entertainer. I swear if that guy cracks one more stupid joke when I'm around-"

"I get the point."

"...Besides that, there's a job tomorrow night. S'nothin' big, so I figured I'd just take it without Ginji." Ban came into view, pausing in the kitchen entryway with an unlit cigarette between his lips. He was fishing his lighter out when Kazuki cast him a warning glare. With a sigh, the younger brunette returned both lighter and cigarette to his shirt pocket. Apparently no matter how many brownie points he'd won with Kazuki, the other man wasn't going to allow him to smoke in the apartment.

Kazuki spoke up again, "So instead, you wanted to come here and see me?" He looked perplexed. Ban just shrugged.

"Did it on a whim. Bought food for two without thinking about it... Would've been pointless to let it all go to waste." He turned to disappear back into the kitchen and started rummaging around for coffee mugs.

Kazuki lowered his gaze and smiled to himself. No matter Ban's reasoning, he still felt grateful for the company. Ban could have gone any number of places; The Honky Tonk, Madoka's (if he felt like tolerating Shido), a hotel... But instead he'd chosen to come see him. That... pleased him somehow.

When Ban returned it was with two cups of coffee. He sat down, taking note of the look on Kazuki's face. "...What?"

"It's nothing..." Kazuki looked down again quickly, drawing the creamed mug of coffee to himself and cupping his cold hands around it. "...Just..."

"Just?"

"...Thakyou."

Ban didn't ask what he was being thanked for, just sat back and gestured to the bag, "What're you waiting for, dig in."

Kazuki needed no further invitation. It was a rare occurance that he ate more than Ban did. Having danishes and doughnuts was also a treat that he rarely indulged in. By the time he was done, his stomach was full and he felt worlds better. Ban himself didn't eat too much. He said that it was rare for him to gorge himself unless he hadn't eaten for a few days. Aside from that, little was said during the meal, but the silence was not uncomfortable. It was, in fact, quite the opposite. Once they were done, Ban gathered the trash and empty coffee cups, and Kazuki sat there, unsure of what to say or do without something to occupy him.

Ban returned from the kitchen, his eyes taking a moment to look Kazuki over thoroughly. "Are those bruises from a job?"

Kazuki lifted his head, blinking. "A... aa... Why?"

"Just curious. Feel up to going out, or are you too sore?"

The older man blinked again, taken aback by both questions. "I... Why?"

Ban lifted his shoulders in a careless shrug. "Thought there might be someplace you might enjoy that we could go."

"Do you really know what kinds of places I would enjoy?" The thread-user sounded genuinely interested as he started to get up from his chair.

"Maybe." Tilting his head, Ban straightened and followed after. "Museums, ballets, art exhibits... You're that kind of person. Am I wrong?"

Kazuki tried to force the limp out of his steps as he made his way towards the bedroom, pausing only a moment at Ban's words. "You're correct. But those aren't the only things I like." He went into the bedroom, leaving the door open for Ban to follow.

"Oh? Then enlighten me."

"I like... parks. And zoos. I went to a waterpark once as a child and loved it." He stopped in front of the closet, thoughtful.

Ban snorted. "Those are all outside places, _itomaki_, and it's fucking freezing outside. Try again."

"Mm..." The taller brunette pulled open the closet door, digging around inside. "...Bookstores. Or libraries. Antique stores... Though, I'm all for sitting at home with movies, tea and a home-cooked meal on most nights." Once he finished speaking, his face darkened in a blush, and he quickly started fishing out clothes. "More than you cared to know, I'm sure."

"Nope," Ban moved farther into the room, stopping just half a foot behind Kazuki, "just what I wanted know."

He was six inches away, but he may as well have been pressed right against Kazuki. The older man didn't dare turn around, and he was trying to think of a polite way to ask Ban to leave so he could change clothes. Ban took another step closer, closing four more inches between them. Kazuki's shoulders tensed a bit, and then his entire body went absolutely rigid when Ban's fingers reached out to brush his bruised shoulder. In most cases, he would have whirled around and smacked him for such a thing, but it felt wrong doing so after Ban had gone out of his way to bring him food, and now was offering to take him out.

Ban's fingers traced over one of the bruises on Kazuki's shoulder... Then just as quickly as he'd appeared there, he disappeared, and when Kazuki looked back Ban was already heading for the door. "Get dressed. We'll go somewhere."

"...Ban-kun?"

Pause. "What?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you've been acting... strange the last week or so."

Ban turned slightly, eyes unreadable behind purple lenses. "Have I?"

"You just aren't usually... this nice."

"Tch'. Thanks a lot." The look on his face made Kazuki feel the slightest bit guilty for having brought it up.

"No - I... Sorry. I didn't mean it like that." He huffed a bit, arms folding across his chest. "But come to think of it, you were acting a bit more normal when Ginji-san was around... Then the moment he's gone, you bring me breakfast and offer to take me somewhere?"

Ban sighed, leaning one shoulder against the wall. "Can't a guy do something nice?"

"Not when that guy simply isn't a nice person." Kazuki was frowning now. Ban's gaze lifted and locked onto him, perfect blue that almost burned. That simple look was making Kazuki feel worse.

"If you don't wanna go out with me today, just say so. I have plenty of other places I could be." Though Ban's voice was his usual low drawl, it sounded fairly offended. Kazuki's feeling of guilt rose, and he turned away from the younger man.

"I'm sorry, Ban-kun... Forget I said anything."

Ban made a soft grunt in response and pulled away from the wall. Kazuki could hear his footsteps carrying him out into the living room, where he was likely waiting for the thread-user to finish getting ready. All the while as he dressed, Kazuki still couldn't help but feel a faint tug of uneasiness at his heart. Midou Ban wasn't just the kind of person to be nice for no particular reason... Was he?

* * *

Kazuki made quick work of dressing in a loose sweater and jeans, fussing with his hair (Ban insisted he did so take as long as a woman to get ready), and lastly slipping on his shoes before he allowed Ban to lead him from the apartment. The chill air nipped at him even through the thick material of his clothes, and he couldn't help but cast glances over at Ban, who bore nothing more than his white shirt and a thin jacket over it. It couldn't have possiby been keeping him warm.

At least inside the Ladybug, they were able to soak up the warmth from the heater for awhile. Ban didn't offer information as to where they were going, Kazuki didn't ask. It was a small show of trust; he didn't suspect Ban was taking him to a dock to dump him off the peir or anything. The gesture did not go unnoticed, but uncommented on instead.

Where they arrived after an hour or so (with Ban cursing traffic most of the way) was a wide building across town, small parking lot nearly completely empty given the time of morning and day of the week. Old vines had crept their way up the sides, covering most of the windows save where it looked as though someone had cut them away. The small steps led up to an old door, a sign dangling on the inside that read 'closed'.

Kazuki slid out of the 360 and followed after Ban, who lit up a cigarette for the short walk across the parking lot since he'd been denied one both at the apartment and in the car. He still said nothing about why they were there, and Kazuki didn't ask. The GetBacker strode right up to the doors and gave a knock, purposely loud so anyone inside would be sure to hear.

After a few moments of silence, Kazuki spoke up, "I don't believe anyone is here... Perhaps we should-"

The sound of the door unlocking from the inside cut him off, and he moved his gaze straight ahead to look at the woman that opened said door and peeked out at them. Before she even said a word, Kazuki knew who she was.

"Midou-san... Ah, this is unexpected." She smiled and pulled the door open wider, looking refined and elegant in her suit that was made for a man, but somehow looked perfectly suited for her.

"Yo. Mind having a few guests for awhile?" Ban hiked a thumb in Kazuki's direction. "Brought someone that would probably appreciate your gallery."

The woman looked past Ban to Kazuki, soft smile still in place. Kazuki folded his hands in front of himself and gave a polite bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Clayman-san."

Ban gave him a questioning look, probably curious as to how Kazuki knew who this was, but didn't ask. "Clayman, this is Kazuki, Threadspool, this is Clayman."

The aforementioned woman gave a soft laugh and extended a hand to Kazuki, which the string-user gripped firmly and shook. "Fuuchouin Kazuki, I presume. It's nice to meet you. Please, come in." She stepped back and aside to allow them enterance, and both moved inside and out of the cold - after Ban had put out his cigarette, that is. The dakkanya didn't ask how Clayman knew of Kazuki; he was a smart boy and was aware that Kazuki was top of the line in the _annaiya_ business. Clayman had probably heard the reputation of Kazuki of the Strings somewhere along the line.

The inside of the building was pleasantly warm, and in much better shape than the outside. The tile floors were unmarred and clean, the walls freshly painted and lined with various framed news articles on Clayman and her mother as well as the gallery they now stood in. The hallway was long, wide enough for maybe three people to stand side by side, and the two doors on either side read 'no public access'. The only place to go was a set of stairs that led down rather than up. Kazuki had never really seen a gallery set in the basement of a building, but who was he to say anything about Clayman's taste in gallery layouts? He merely followed along quietly while Ban and Clayman did their idle chatter. 'How have you been? How is Amano-san? How has work been going?' 'Fine thanks, he's still an idiot, work has been steady enough...' He smiled faintly to himself.

Clayman led them down the stairs into the large basement, nearly pitch-black save for an overhead light just at the bottom of the steps. She stepped to one side, opened up a breaker-box on the wall and flipped the switches to light up the room. She cast them a smile. "There's still an hour before I open the doors to the public while I get some things done. Will you two be alright on your own?"

Ban waved his hand slightly. "Yupp. I'll give him a tour."

Kazuki dipped his head politely and thanked her before Clayman nodded, turned, and retreated back up the stairs. The thread user watched her go before turning back to his companion. "Good choice in location, Ban-kun."

"Thought so. Didn't think you'd ever been here before." He turned, stuffing his hands in his pockets and strolled over to the nearest painting on the wall. Kazuki followed quietly.

One couldn't say that paintings done by a medium possessed by the spirit of artists long since dead weren't absolutely intriguing. Kazuki knew most of the more popular paintings from articles and word of mouth, but seeing them in person and up-close was indeed amazing. He even allowed Ban to tell all the details to him; when it was painted, things about the 'original' artist... All things Kazuki already knew, but it was interesting to see just how much _Ban_ knew. Kazuki felt that perhaps Ban was a good deal more intelligent than he'd given him credit for. And maybe... just maybe... it was sort of nice just listening to the sound of his voice when he wasn't being quite so defensive and snarky.

After awhile that soft, low thrum to Ban's voice lulled Kazuki into a somewhat dazed state, and he found himself staring at Ban rather than the painting they were standing in front of. When the Jagan-master noticed, he cast a side-long look towards the thread-user and stopped talking.

"...What?"

Kazuki blinked repeatedly, snapping back to reality. "Ah...?"

"You were staring at me."

"I..." He had been, hadn't he? "I'm sorry... I was just spacing a little." He blinked and turned his gaze away quickly, focusing too intently on the painting.

"Did I say it was bad? I was just asking." Ban tried not to smirk as he lifted a hand to grip Kazuki's chin and turn the brunette's face back toward him. Kazuki stopped and just stared at him with slightly wide eyes, but made no move to stop him as Ban started to lean in and ghost his lips against the corner of Kazuki's mouth.

Really, Kazuki was making this far too easy for him and the look on the thread-user's face was so... Maybe he should lay off a little...

_'No no no! No laying off!'_ Things were going so well, why was he feeling the tiniest bit of unease _now_? Kazuki wasn't shrieking or hissing at him or punching him. This was what he'd been trying for, wasn't it!

Ban's lips hesitated over Kazuki's, and the few ticking seconds where they both stood still and silent and breath-holding seemed to last for hours. With a slow, easy movement, Ban briefly kissed the older man's mouth and drew away, turning to start for the stairs. Funny, Kazuki thought, that such a simple kiss left him reeling as much as that first kiss on his apartment floor had done. ...That wasn't fair-!

"Ban-kun...?"

"Clayman's gotta get this place ready to open to the public," Ban called over his shoulder without looking back. "We should get going."

Kazuki struggled for words to say. Finding none, he hurried after Ban to follow him back up the stairs where Clayman was making a few final touches; dusting, unlocking doors, turning on lights... Ban was acting as though he _hadn't_ just kissed Kazuki for no reason and without warning, and Kazuki was still trying to work out all the little reasons why Ban would have done such a thing that he didn't say a word. Were all men this confusing...! And why was his heart _still_ beating three beats per two seconds too fast? Something was horribly wrong with this scenario.

* * *

The walk back out to the car was silent, as was the time inside the car itself. Kazuki glanced at the clock on the dashboard and noted that they'd been inside Clayman's gallery nearly the full hour. Funny, it seeemed like all day to him.

After a long silent spell, he spoke up. "Where are we going now?"

"Where do you want to go?"

"..."

Ban cast a side-long glance at him, though only briefly so as to avoid getting them into an accident in the morning traffic. "What?"

"Nothing. I don't care where we go." Kazuki's head turned away, eyes focusing outside the window.

"...Do you want to go home? That was awfully short for a date."

"No. And since when did this become a date, Ban-kun?"

"I was just joking, jeez..."

Kazuki frowned and sank down in his seat discontentedly, arms folded across his stomach.

"You're sulking," Ban pointed out mildly.

"I most certainly am not."

"You are. What's your problem?"

Kazuki sucked in a breath, counted quickly to ten and let it out again. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong."

It was Ban's turn to stay silent while he counted to ten, much more slowly than Kazuki had. When he exhaled, it came out as a sort of growl. "Fine. I'll take you home."

"I already said I don't _want_ to go home." He sounded far more exhasperated than he should have. "I just..."

"Just _what_! Geez, just spit it out! You're as bad as a woman about saying what the hell you want!" Ban would have been scowling at him were his eyes not focused smartly on the road.

"I'm enjoying spending time with you, I don't _want_ to go home!" Kazuki blurted out, and immediately shut his mouth and looked out the passenger's side window silently. Dammit, he was normally so _good_ at keeping hold of his temper! Why did being around Ban get him so flustered so quickly?

"...That was all you had to say." The tension eased out of Ban's shoulders and his grip on the wheel loosened. "Was that so hard?"

Kazuki hunkered down in his seat sulkily. "Yes."

"Bah. Alright then, where else do you wanna go?"

Silence. And after a moment, "...Shopping?"

"You are such a woman, _itomaki_."

"Book-shopping."

Ban half-smirked, amused. "Alright, that's better."

Dark brown eyes shifted slowly, looking over at Ban. "And then grocery-shopping? I may as well make use of your car while I can." Carrying things from the grocery store to his apartment tended to be a bit of a chore...

"Tch', fine, fine. Book-shopping, lunch, store, your place." Ban snorted, but really, didn't seem displeased with the agenda.

Kazuki's head turned to look back out the window again. Despite still being hunched down in his seat and seemingly pouting, Ban saw a smile on the other man's face the rest of the drive.

* * *

**Notes:** Ahaha, thought I was going to abandon this forever, eh:D; Nope, just for a long while. Eheh. Sorry about that. I've been stuck with this fic for a nice long while, and it's not like a whole lot happened in this chapter anyway. Ah, well. Slow and steady. For those that've been reading since chapter one, if you're so inclined, go re-read. :D I did a major overhaul, editing, rephrasing, adding in a few things here and there! The begining still starts out far too fast for my liking, but I'll worry about fixing that some other time. Thanks so much for those that commented even recently saying they wanted me to continue! _Lyrics: "All of You", Vertical Horizon_


	10. Beautiful

**Title:** My December

**Chapter**: 10?

**Pairings:** Ban / Kazuki eventually

**Disclaimer:** You know the drill. They aren't mine.

**Warnings:** None for this chapter, you're safe.

* * *

The rest of the day was spent in relative peace. Ban's light teasing didn't so much as ruffle a metaphorical feather on Kazuki, and he took the quips with a roll of his eyes or a slight smile. Lunch happened in a quiet café near the thread-user's apartment. Kazuki had asked why they didn't just drop by the Honky Tonk, and Ban insisted it was because if he was going to actually _pay_ for his meal, he wanted to go somewhere better than Paul's 'run-down excuse for a business'. Somewhere across town in the Honky Tonk, Paul sneezed.

The café they ended up in was about the size of the Honky Tonk, run by an older couple with a few younger high school students working as part-time employees. They'd thankfully missed the lunch-rush that'd left the café a bit messy while two girls and a boy squabbled over who had to bus tables and who got to man the register up front. Kazuki observed the scene quietly once he and Ban had seated themselves in a booth near the front windows and ordered. As much as Kazuki disliked windows, he was caught by his like to watch people passing on the sidewalk outside. Though he wasn't accustomed to company while he was 'people-watching', and soon discovered that _Ban_ was watching _him_.

"…What?"

"You're staring." He raised a brow, looking to the high school kids talking amongst themselves while they worked. "What's so interesting?"

Kazuki paused as one of the girls brought over their drinks. Coffee for Ban, tea for himself. He lifted a spoon and stirred his vanilla-scented brew, gesturing with his other hand. "People."

"People are interesting?" Ban took up his warm mug and sipped, peering at Kazuki over the rims of his glasses. "I thought they were kinda irritating, but maybe that's just me."

"Irritating, annoying, funny, oblivious, smart, stupid… Human beings are a variety of things, Ban-kun." Kazuki shrugged a little and lowered his eyes while he added sugar to his tea. "I do the job I do because I enjoy watching and listening and learning."

"You could be a psychiatrist," Ban teased lazily.

Kazuki laughed dryly. "I suppose I could. An analyst, perhaps. But actually helping someone fix their mental issues? I have too many of my own to spend my days helping others with theirs."

The younger man's eyes fixated on him at that statement, clearly curious but not willing to ask. If Kazuki wanted to elaborate, he would. If not… then Ban would be left to his inquisitiveness.

Kazuki continued. "Besides, being an _annaiya_ permits me to schedule my own hours and pick and choose my jobs. It's easier that way." And, Ban imagined, Kazuki made more playing spy than he ever would have at a normal job.

"Point taken." Ban took another drink from his coffee, trying to refrain from feeling a little bitter. Threadspool had left Mugenjou and started up his job as an information specialist only a few months after Ginji left and began their job as a recovery service team. While they were still struggling, Kazuki had certainly made a name for himself and seemed to have more money than he knew what to do with. Ginji had commented once that Kazu-chan had always been intelligent when it came to saving and money-management…

Ban gave his head a slow shake to clear it. "So then, what makes people so interesting? There's only so much you can tell by watching them without actually _knowing_ them."

"People are like rubix-cubes," Kazuki mused, resting his chin in the palm of one hand. "If you can get a good start in figuring them out, then the rest comes easy."

"I'm a rubix-cube, then?" Ban sounded amused, a tone that brought Kazuki's gaze to him.

"Mm. You're a little different." He squinted, peering at Ban so intently as though intending to see straight through him. "You're like… a rubix whose cubes keep changing colors."

"One like that would be pretty much unsolvable," he snorted.

"Exactly."

Ban blinked and caught the other's eyes and they stared at each other for a long moment. It was Kazuki who looked away first, focusing on his tea instead. The other man continued to watch him. "…You're kind of the same way," he suddenly blurted out in irritation.

"Me…?"

"Mhmm." It was Ban's turn to look away when Kazuki lifted his gaze again. "Sometimes I think I have you figured out, then I notice something I hadn't noticed before. It's exasperating."

Kazuki smiled, eyes virtually sparkling in delight. "Indeed."

Ban said nothing at that point, merely resumed enjoying his coffee until their food came.

* * *

Amano Ginji could have lived in Mugenjou for a hundred years, and still managed to get himself lost. Oh, sure, he'd found MakubeX in his control center easily enough… It was when he left to take a walk around and grab a bite to eat that problems arose.

"That way? No… ah…"

The blonde shuffled to a stop, looking down both directions of the street and combing a hand back through his hair with a sigh. Maybe if he just ran in a straight line long enough, he'd find something or someone familiar. Normally he'd have just waited right where he was; Ban-chan always came to find him! Unfortunately such a plan was useless given the situation.

A few more blocks left him in an area that he recognized as being close to the Belt Line. Buildings looked dirtier and more run down, the piles of debris of age-old battles from thugs that had wandered into Lower Town looking for trouble. The hallways, of course, led to the Belt Line doors, but fights rarely occurred in there.

Ginji paused at the entrance to those halls, peering into the darkness. Normally, they were lit dimly from the ceiling, but often lights were broken or burnt out and MakubeX had more important things to worry about than replacing them every few weeks. The blonde listened, taking in the sound of a breeze whispering its way through the halls, out to him, warm against his skin. If one listened long enough, one could swear to hear voices on the wind. Ginji shivered. It seemed so much scarier without Ban-chan with him…

A sudden clamor to his left and behind caught his attention and he spun around, sucking in a lungful of air.

"…Raitei?"

He'd not any time to even muster up a crackle of electricity before he was aware of his new companions. The first being a tall man whose closed eyes and apathetic expression was all too familiar. The tension in Ginji's shoulders eased, and he smiled. "Juubei, Uryuu-kun!"

The later was lingering behind the first, all messy blonde hair and eyes so bright they rivaled Ban's. He stared at Ginji with a light scowl before looking away. The former Lightning Emperor tried to ignore the twinge in his chest; he knew well that Uryuu Toshiki held little care for him, and he understood it to a point. Kazuki had disbanded Fuuga for him, and Toshiki had left because of it. Because of him. But it was still good to see the man working under MakubeX now (though he knew it was only at Kazuki's request).

Juubei moved forward, nodding politely. "It's been awhile. Have you been well?"

'_Just like Kazu-chan_,' he thought with a smile. '_Always polite_.'

"I've been alright; business is going well!" Ginji grinned and moved closer. He knew better by now than to offer them hugs as he was prone to give. Juubei usually just stood there stiffly, unsure of how to respond, and Toshiki was just liable to deck him. "I, um, sort of got lost. Do either of you know how to get back to MakubeX?" It dawned on him suddenly that MakubeX could probably see him over the surveillance cameras, and that all he'd likely had to do was look to a camera and inform it that he was lost and the computer-boy could have generated a door to lead him back. Ginji still wasn't sure how the whole virtual-thing worked in Mugenjou, and puzzling it out gave him headaches.

"This way." Juubei turned, curt as always, and began the trek over debris of broken buildings, glass, metal and, Ginji knew, bones buried beneath the rubble.

They walked in relative silence, Toshiki behind Ginji behind Juubei. The blonde in the back still hadn't said a word, though Ginji could feel the unspoken question he wanted to ask and turned to look at him over his shoulder with an offered smile.

"Kazu-chan's been doing well. I think he's due back for a visit soon, ne?"

The light he saw in Toshiki's eyes was small, but present. He might've even smiled a little had anyone other than Ginji delivered him such news. "One can hope…"

Now that the topic had been opened, Juubei slowed his steps and turned his head slightly to better be heard. "Is Kazuki doing well?"

"He seemed so the last I saw him, which was just the other night. He's been busy with work." Ginji scratched a hand through his hair thoughtfully.

Juubei and Toshiki both frowned in slight disapproval. "Kazuki shouldn't be doing such a dangerous job alone," the blonde muttered.

"Ah, but he's good at it," Ginji insisted. "And he's not always alone. Shido's with him sometimes, depending on the job. I think he's even gone with Himiko-chan a time or two."

"But never with you and Midou?" Juubei turned a corner, and Ginji marveled at how well the blind man moved without ever colliding into anything. Even I he /I couldn't do that!

"Ah, no. Ban-chan's not big on working with other people, y'know? I mean, he will if the job requires it, but otherwise…" He shrugged helplessly. "Otherwise he likes it just being us two, which is fine too. I think it'd be fun to work with Kazu-chan sometime though, he's so smart at planning things out." Better than he and his partner, who usually just figured their next course of action as they went. At least thus far it hadn't resulted in getting them killed.

Silence fell over the two older men again, and Ginji let it be. Any talk that reminded them of Kazuki being Outside was not pleasant for them, he imagined. Kazuki had no reason to stay Outside. Maybe Juubei had obligations to stay in Mugenjou, but Toshiki didn't. The only reason he remained inside the Fortress' walls was because Kazuki had wished it so. Uryuu Toshiki held little to no respect for MakubeX or the work he begrudgingly did for the boy. The only man he would ever follow so willingly was Kazuki of the Strings, the Prince of Battle Terror. Ginji had a fleeting thought of whether Kazu-chan might've been capable of keeping the Volts together had Toshiki been there at his side to help.

The thought fled as quickly as it came as Ginji forced it away. '_Don't waste what little capability you have to think on contemplating things long past. They can't be changed._' Ban's words echoed in his head and he smiled to himself. Ban-chan was usually right.

Juubei led them straight through Mugenjou, taking shortcuts when able and finally bringing them back to the halls that ended in the double-doors. Beyond them MakubeX was waiting, turning from his computer and smiling. "Welcome back."

Kakei Sakura sat neatly beside him and lifted her head, rising smoothly to relinquish her seat to Ginji. Toshiki moved past the Lightning Emperor and Juubei to take up residence directly beside the older Kakei sibling. Ginji took note of the way her hand lifted to rest on his arm, as though meant to soothe, but he thought little of it for now.

"You could have saved us the time walking, you know," Toshiki muttered upon seeing the computer monitors lit up with surveillance footage of the streets the trio had been walking through.

MakubeX just smiled. "A little exercise never hurt anyone."

"Take your own advice," the blonde growled at him, silenced only by a look from Sakura.

The computer boy's attention diverted back to Ginji. "Please, make yourself at home. I'm sorry I sent you off so fast earlier, I was attempting to finish up a few things." He scooted over so Ginji could sit beside him, and the boy nodded to the three ex-Fuuga members to excuse them.

They left without a word, leaving nothing but the soft noises of MakubeX's computers for company. Ginji looked over the footage playing on each of the monitors with amazement. Back in the time of the original Volts, there were only a few cameras centered on key parts of Lower Town. Now it seemed that nothing could go on that MakubeX didn't see. "It was quiet out there…" he observed quietly. "No commotion or problems. Guess Lower Town is doing rather well?"

"I'd not have requested your aid if that were so," MakubeX replied regretfully. Ginji looked at him as he explained. "Things were doing well for awhile, but this winter has been hard on us. What little food is growing inside of Mugenjou isn't doing well, and many of our imported food suppliers are cutting us off due to their own crops Outside doing poorly. Add that to the increased population in Lower Town, and things have been less than agreeable for us."

Ginji remained soundless as he listened. Food-shortage had not been uncommon in the days of the Volts, but little could really be done but to wait for spring, when the weather cleared and food was within easier access. Normally people were smart enough to stock up for the winter months so as not to starve. But still, many families couldn't afford to do such a thing.

"I've been paying extra to outside sources in order to get more food incoming, but it's proving difficult. If I continue at the rate I've been going, there's going to be no money left come mid-February." The boy sighed. "There's also been an increase of attacks from Belt Line intruders. My thought is that they've come to Lower Town in search of food as well."

The blonde worried at his lower lip. Honestly, MakubeX, by the sounds of it, had already tried far more than Ginji himself would have known to try. "So all you really need is a supplier that won't leave you broke, right?"

Blinking, the boy nodded. "That would help, yes. But as I said, I'm having trouble locating one. My sources extend throughout all of Japan, so I doubt you'd have any luck finding one-"

"Leave it to me," Ginji interjected. "When Ban-chan comes to pick me up, we'll find a way to get a steady supply of food coming into Mugenjou."

"Ginji-san…" He trailed off, smiled faintly and nodded.

"Until then, I'm sure we can find a place to grow food in here too, right? It won't do any good for this winter, but over the summer when the snow lets up, we could work on cleaning up some of the old buildings that aren't livable and make use of the ground beneath it."

He nodded. "I'd considered that, but it's a gamble as to whether or not it will work. What little earth we have in Mugenjou isn't very good for growing. But perhaps I can manage something, if I can get the manpower to execute such a plan." Thoughts and plans were all fantastic, but to carry such a thing out would take a handful of people working every day so the crops had time to grow over the summer months. Unfortunately, MakubeX hadn't a handful of people to excuse from their duties to carry such things out. He needed every last person he could get. It was times like these that he desperately craved for the numbers the original Volts had.

Ginji smiled down at him, draping a heavy arm about his shoulders and hugging the teen to his side. "Things will be fine, MakubeX."

And that was all it took for MakubeX to believe him.

* * *

He stopped in the middle of the walkway and lifted his head, peering into the distance. Mugenjou loomed above all the other buildings, dark and uninviting in all its melancholic glory. Kazuki came to a pause beside him and followed his gaze. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Ban plucked the cigarette from between his lips, let it fall to the cement and ground it out with his heel.

Kazuki started walking again. "You could always call him, you know. Isn't that why the two of you have separate phones now?"

Ban snorted and trailed after him. "He's probably busy. If he wants to talk to me, he can call."

"But as you said," the thread-user looked over his shoulder with a smile, "he's probably busy. But that doesn't mean he wouldn't make time if you called him, you know that."

"…Aa." Ban fell silent. His partner hadn't been gone more than twenty-four hours. How pitiful was it that he already felt the aching urge just to hear his voice? Absence, he supposed, did indeed make the heart grow fonder. At least he had company as opposed to sitting in the 360 and sulking away the days.

As Kazuki walked several feet ahead, Ban watched him. The older man's hips swayed when he moved in a fashion that reminded Ban all too much of a woman. It was offset by the slight limp he held from his injuries, however, and he wondered if Kazuki even realized he was doing it. It had gotten progressively worse throughout the day the more Kazuki walked.

The sky overhead was grey but not yet dark, the world shielded from the sun by thick clouds. The park trees around them whispered and moved with the occasional soft breeze, and an oncoming snowfall could near be tasted in the air. Ban shivered. "I should get you home," he said finally, and Kazuki turned full-circle with his gaze lifted skyward, long tail of hair whipping about him. Ban inhaled and held it. One couldn't say that Threadspool wasn't a beautiful creature to watch.

"Mm… I suppose I _should_ get home and make a few phone calls," Kazuki mused, looking to Ban with a smile. The retrieval agent looked away.

"Yeah well, I have a job tonight and all, so unless you wanna walk home we should get going." He turned briskly, heading back down the park pathway that'd led them there. The sounds of Kazuki padding along behind him reached his ears.

Kazuki caught up and matched stride with him, their steps nearly falling in line save that Ban's were just a fraction shorter and therefore faster than Kazuki's. "…Thank you for taking me out today," the thread-user offered, casting a smile over to him. Ban grunted curtly in reply, mood suddenly soured though he was unsure why. Maybe being around the Threadspool so much was making him cranky, or perhaps it was Ginji's absence. Either way, he was ready to be alone for awhile. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Kazuki watching him and the smile fading from his face. The thread-user remained silent during their walk to the car.

Stepping around to the passenger's side, Kazuki reached for the door and tugged it open. A sharp twinge in his injured thigh brought him to a dead halt and his eyes twitched shut in pain. It wasn't the first time it had happened through the day, but it was getting worse. Walking through town, through stores, to and from the car, and then throughout the park had aided in his pain.

From across the roof of the car, Ban observed him. "…Yeah. Definitely need to get you home." He slid inside and Kazuki followed suit, favoring his leg.

"I'm fine. I'll go home and soak in a hot bath; my muscles are just a little sore."

"More like bruised. What the hell happened last night, anyway?" The car rumbled to life after two or three tries, and Ban started on the road back to Kazuki's apartment.

"I already told you, I just got careless. I had a little fall."

"What, off a ten-story building or down eight flights of stairs?" Ban was somewhat teasing, but the grimace he saw on Kazuki's face drained the humor from his voice quickly. "Which one was it?"

"Building. But certainly not ten stories. I don't think even Ginji-san could survive that fall." Kazuki exhaled, warm breath fogging part of the passenger's side window momentarily as he gazed out of it.

"Oi, aren't you the genius." Ban snorted. "If you wanted to go bungee jumping, there are better places to do it than on a job."

Kazuki rolled his eyes, but quirked a smile. It was Ban's awkward way of being concerned, he was learning, so he didn't mind so much.

The two remained quiet for a good part of the drive, and only when they were nearing the apartment building did Kazuki speak up. "Are you sleeping in the car while Ginji-san is away?"

Another derisive snort. "As though I'd waste money on a hotel when it's just me using it."

Silence again for a moment, and then Kazuki's voice was softer, bordering on shy. "Do you want to stay over again…?"

Ban came to a stop outside of the building door, head swiveling to look the thread-user over, scrutinizing. He observed the way Kazuki's eyes remained fixed outside the window, and the passive expression on his delicate face. Considering his options, Ban nodded. "I'll come by when my job is done," he said.

A slight flicker came to Kazuki's eyes, unbeknownst to the string-user, and he smiled as he opened the door and slid out of the car. "Then I'll have dinner ready for you."

The smile warranted one in kind from Ban, and some of the irritation building in his chest melted away. "You do that. No falling off of roofs while I'm gone."

With that, he pulled away from the curb and drove off, only a moment later cursing himself inwardly. From his spot near the door, Kazuki watched after him long after he was gone from sight. Something tugged in his chest and he swallowed hard, turning to walk inside.

'_Fuuchouin Kazuki,'_ he scolded himself on the ascent of the stairs, '_you do _not_ fall for an arrogant bastard of a man, no matter how charming he can be._'

But something in the back of his head told him it was too late.

* * *

**Chapter Notes:** Loooong chapter, the longest yet I believe at around 3,750 words. Go, me. I was on a roll. Granted a large chunk of that is Ginji-centric, but I enjoy writing for him and it IS essential to the story later on. (Plot? What plot? Haha.) Hope the last line managed to please some of you. :D; No lyrics for this chapter 'cause I got lazy. 


	11. Dare

**Title:** "My December"  
**Chapter:** 11?  
**Pairings:** Ban/Kazuki. Later pairings, possibly.  
**Disclaimer:** GetBackers and all associated characters are, unfortunately, not mine. Sue if you want, but I have no money anyway.  
**Warnings:** PG-13-ish, just to be safe. Consider this fic spoiler-filled, just in case.  
**Notes:** Woo. About time I got up a new chapter, huh? I suck, I know. Might edit to include lyrics for this chapter later, I'm too lazy to look them up now. Enjoy. No interaction for Ban and Kazuki this time, but you finally get to find out what happened with Ban and Shido!

* * *

'_The right shoulder,_' Ban thought sourly. '_It's always the right fucking shoulder._' 

He pressed the bloodied towel to his wound harder, willing himself to not fall into the unconsciousness that often accompanied so much blood loss. Not to mention his head hurt, but hey, the stupid target was sitting beside him in the 360, wagging its tail and looking happy to leave its nose-pints all over the passenger's side window. Ban just growled.

It was another few hours before he had the damned dog returned were it needed to be, and another hour before he even thought about heading to Threadspool's place. By then he was tired and irritable and still bleeding (all over his seats no less. Yet another car-cleaning bill.) and being seen like this was a wound to his ego.

Still, he knew he needed to see a doctor, but for now sleep felt more important and he had a first-aid kit on hand to bandage up the gouge in his right shoulder enough that he could relax. And so, with the 360 outside of a park, Ban dropped his seat back and fell straight to sleep.

* * *

Kazuki woke with a crick in his neck and an ache all the way down his spine into his hips and injured leg. When he straightened up, his shoulders were a little stiff and his cheek was numb where it'd been resting on his forearms. The sight of the empty spot at the table across from him and all the uneaten dinner food brought the previous night back to the forefront of his brain quickly, and he had to fight down the melting pot of confusion, worry and irritation by looking away. 

Ban had never shown up, never called. Kazuki cooked, sat, waited. When he got hungry, he ate his own food and waited some more. Reheated Ban's plate once, sat again, waited more, but refused to permit himself to be so pitiful as to call the other man's phone. Eventually he'd laid his head on his arms to close his eyes and rest for a moment, and the next thing he knew... he was waking up there, only an hour before dawn...

And still no Midou Ban.

During the next hour before the sun came up completely, Kazuki put away the leftover food, checked over his wounds, which looked much better, and made a few phone calls. The last of which was to Ban's cell, once worry got the best of him. It went straight to voicemail, and he hung up before leaving a message.

He could no longer recall any of the things from the night before of why he liked Ban, the things that'd led him to start discovering that Ban _wasn't_ just a loud, vulgar, dangerous, self-centered bastard. With as much as he'd been stressing over the types of thoughts and feelings he'd been having of and about Ban, one would have thought getting them out of his head even for a little while would have made him feel better; _normal_ again.

It didn't.

A shower made him feel better. When he came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped tight around his body (Ban would have remarked that he wore his towel like a woman did, up high around his chest) he stepped across the hallway towards his bedroom door.

A brief flash of movement and noise alerted his senses to someone out in the living room and he froze for a moment, before pressing up against the wall and inching his way along it towards the corner. Whatever it was hadn't moved again, or at least, Kazuki couldn't hear it. And damn it all, his threads were on the kitchen table.

Thankfully his footsteps were silent on the carpet, so even if Kazuki couldn't hear the intruder, hopefully the intruder couldn't hear him, either. Hadn't he locked his door-! Irrelevant now, wasn't it. Well, now or never.

He swung around the corner and barely had a chance to take two steps towards the looming figure near his couch when - "If you hit me, don't think I won't hit you back."

All the steam went right out of him, and suddenly Kazuki just felt quite silly standing there, dripping wet and clutching a towel around himself. "...Shido. What're you doing here?" Uhoh, he hadn't forgotten about another job, had he?

The large man turned a little where he was perched on the arm of the couch, thumbing through one of Kazuki's books. He shrugged a little. "Can't I make a social call to my friends?"

"First of all, that has to be the first time you've ever used 'my friends' in a sentence that didn't have to do with animals. Second, you never make social calls." Kazuki adjusted the towel a little. "Is everything alright?"

Shido's grey eyes were fixed on him, frowning, and he didn't seem sure what to say.

"Was Midou here yesterday?"

"...Not that it's any of your business, but yes, he was." It was Kazuki's turn to frown. "Why?"

"I think we need to talk, Kaz..." he said slowly as his eyes started to wander a bit lower. Seeing his companion nearly naked didn't bother him in the least - it wasn't like he'd not seen the guy nude before back in the Volts. Normally, in fact, he'd not have even looked twice at anything other than Kazuki's face, but the discoloration on the thread-user's leg drew his eyes downward.

"Oi, what happened to you?"

Kazuki scoffed and turned to make towards his bedroom again. "Again, none of your business. If this isn't important, at least let me get some clothes on fir--" He was cut off as Shido snagged hold of his arm and yanked him back like some sort of rag doll, and before h really knew what was going on, the beast master yanked up part of his towel to get a better look at his thigh and hip. Kazuki yelped and tried to hold the towel down at least a little to permit himself some small sliver of modesty. Shido didn't seem to care.

"Jeez, Kazuki... This came from a job, _right_?"

"It did." Kazuki squirmed a little, grudgingly permitting other man to look him over with sulkish patience. "I'm not prone to bruising myself up with hammers and jumping down flights of stairs. Bad habit to get into, that."

"Shut up." Shido released him, still scowling. "Nothing serious though? You're okay?"

...Well, that got a small smile out of Kazuki. "It's quite cute to see you so concerned, but really, I'm fine." This time when he drew away and made for the bedroom, Shido merely got up and followed. He even shut the bedroom door behind them, out of habit, really, and took a seat on the edge of the bed while Kazuki rummaged through his closet for something to wear.

"So..." Shido seemed hesitant. "What did you and snake-bastard do yesterday?"

The thread user spared a glance over his shoulder. "You're awfully curious today. If you must know, we had breakfast, went to an art gallery, to the park and grocery shopping. Would you like to know more specifics?"

"I'm not trying to be nosey," Shido grumbled irritably. "I just wanted to know..."

"I gathered, but _why_? I know you dislike Ban-kun but..."

"Since when did it change from 'Midou-kun' anyway?"

"..._But_ you never pry about where Ginji-san goes with him. What's going on?"

The larger man seemed to almost squirm beneath Kazuki's intent stare, and he felt like a child that knew it was about to get into trouble if he didn't talk. He'd be in trouble even when he did, too, but... Well, now or never.

* * *

_Who knew how it had started. One of them got irritated, snarked at the other, Ginji was out of the room so it was safe for the other to snark back. A few lazy insults back and forth and soon they were yelling and close to decking one another. Ban had a bad habit of getting right up into peoples' faces and, naturally, it made Shido uneasy and he kept trying to rear back to keep distance between them. _

_"...Then go take a bath, you stupid monkey-tamer! You smell of kept-man!" Ban was yelling at him. _

_"You're just jealous," Shido was snarling back, "because **you **can't get a girl for the life of you, and even if you did it's not like you could afford to provide for her! You can't even make sure **Ginji** doesn't go hungry!" _

_The comment struck a nerve close to home with Ban; he was sensitive about the fact that he'd never really been abele to take care of Ginji as well as he would have liked. But like hell he was going to show that raw spot to Shido of all people. _

_"At least I'm not stuck playing man-servant to a blind girl, because she's the only one who'll have me! Damned good she can't see you or you might start crying when she runs away screaming, and nothin' more pathetic than seeing a grown monkey cry." _

_Shido bristled. "Leave Madoka out of this! And you sure as hell couldn't ever get **me** if your life depended on it!" _

_"Like I'd **want** you. I wouldn't touch you with a ten-foot pole, much less let you come near me with that murder-weapon between your legs!" _

_He'd opened himself right up for that one. "What, jealous, Midou, because your mouth is the only thing on you that's big?" _

_...And vice-versa. "Please, monkey-tamer. In this case, there's big," he pointed to his mouth, then to Shido's crotch, "and then there's just plain ridiculous. Again, Madoka would run away screaming if she could see. I bet everyone else has." _

_"Better run away screaming than run away laughing like they'd do with you!" He was screaming now, it was a miracle Ginji hadn't come running. _

_"Women worship the ground the invincible Midou Ban-sama walks on, sarumashi. Don't you forget that! I can have anyone I want at my feet!" It wasn't true and he knew it, but what kind of ego would he have if he didn't say such things? "Hevn, that Kakei girl, pretty-boy Threadspool, hell I could get **Madoka** if I were so inclined!" _

_At that, Shido burst out laughing. "I'd love to see you try with any of them! Hevn would slug you, Madoka would slap you, Sakura'd leave you hanging from the ceiling by her shawl for a week, and Kazuki... Tch', you'd have your eyes, mouth and ears sewn shut, and god knows what else." _

_Ban's lips quirked up in a snarl. "You really think so, huh? Wanna see me try? Easy targets. All of 'em." _

_"Go ahead, I **dare** you; it'll be your funeral. I'll make sure to send flowers to be put on your grave." The beast master looked genuinely amused now, finding it hard not to laugh. _

_Ban's dark eyes narrowed. Suddenly he was even more furious than before, but slugging Shido would have made for a very unhappy Ginji... and that just would not do. He snatched his flimsy jacket from the back of couch and stalked off, clutching his keys hard enough to make his hand hurt. _

_"Oi-! Where are you going!" Shido started after him. Ban wouldn't just leave Ginji there, would he? _

_"Away from **you**, fucking ape." He stopped at the door, turned a little, and smirked darkly. "I'll give Threadspool your regards when I have him writhing around under me later." He sneered, opened the front door and stalked out, leaving a stunned, panicked Shido behind._

* * *

Kazuki continued getting dressed while Shido recalled the argument with Ban from awhile back, his movements mechanical and slow as the information absorbed into his brain. It'd been an amusing story at first, until _he'd_ been brought into it… But still, why would Shido take something like that so seriously? He finished pulling on his shirt and buttoning up his pants. 

When he turned around, Shido was studying him, the faintest hint of concern on his face of how Kazuki would react. Kazuki sighed.

"I think you're looking too far into things. If he were honestly going for some stupid dare like that, he'd have been a lot nicer to me lately… than… normal…" His words trailed off a little, and he recalled his comment to Ban only recently.

'_You're acting awfully nice lately…'_

He grimaced. Nicer, yes, but not _nice_, really. After all, they'd been arguing a lot, and only yesterday had they really made it through the day without raising their voices.

'_No. Instead I let him kiss me again, and invited him over for dinner.'_

Kazuki's expressions were changing from confused to angry to hurt and back again so quickly that Shido worried that maybe he was too late at first. "Kazuki…"

"I don't think there's anything to worry about, Shido. Ban-kun and I… just because we're getting along better now doesn't mean he's trying to sleep with me."

"…You say that, but you don't say that you wouldn't even if he tried?"

"That's not the point -- …I haven't had sex with Ban-kun. Nor will I." It felt untrue when he said it, and he could feel his cheeks darkening. Okay, so maybe he'd thought about it… Not a lot, really, only briefly and only recently, and honestly he couldn't say what he would do if Ban tried. The nagging feeling that something was wrong before now only increased. What if Ban really was only trying to get close to him for some stupid dare just to prove himself in an idiot's-bet with Shido? It hurt to think about, and while he didn't want to believe it, the logical part of his brain refused to let him disregard the possibility so easily.

He became painfully aware of Shido's scrutinizing stare as he started for the bedroom door again. "Don't fall for him, Kaz. Not him. You know better. He's dangerous and an bastard, you could do so much better." Shido trailed after him.

"Please stop that, you're acting as though I'm in love with him," Kazuki muttered. He retrieved his keys and wallet, slipped into his shoes and pulled on a jacket.

Shido went still. "…Are you?"

"No!" Sighing, he crossed his arms over his chest. "No, I'm not," he told Shido honestly. "I… I'm growing fond of him, I suppose. But please, we've only just started getting along. I appreciate you telling me, but I can take care of myself."

"Growing fond of, and trusting him. Both of which are dangerous things for both your physical and mental health," Shido pointed out.

"Thank you, Doctor Shido," Kazuki replied blandly. He opened up the door. "Please lock up when you leave if you're staying for awhile. I really do appreciate the concern. But if you'll excuse me, I have things to get done today."

"Hopefully not Midou."

"…Good_bye_, Shido."


	12. Real Kisses

**Title:** My December  
**Chapter:** 12?  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine. Sadly.  
**Notes/Warnings:** Probably spoilers. Not many warnings for this chapter, except maybe a 'yay!'ness factor at the very end. Longest chapter yet, I think, at nearly 3,800 words. XD

* * *

It was the first night he'd spent in Mugenjou in a long time. And while he'd not forgotten how uncomfortable the old, creaky beds could be (certainly less comfortable than the seats in the 360, which he'd grown so used to), his back certainly had and he found himself tossing and turning and, more than once, attempting to sling his arm across a certain grumpy brunette that wasn't beside him.

In fact, it was Ban's absence that woke Ginji in the morning rather than the usual rumble in his stomach... though that was present as well. He shifted, bare feet slipping out from beneath the blankets and locating the floor. After some effort he forced himself to sit up, yawning.

The room was a familiar place; the ceilings were low, the window dusty and its wood paneling cracked in a place or two that made getting it open or closed rather difficult. It was cracked open only a tiny bit to allow in some fresh air amongst the musty walls. It wasn't a five star hotel, but it was nostalgic for Ginji who'd spent eighty percent of his life sleeping in rooms like these. Usually they were a little (lot) more crowded though.

Kazuki always kept by him back in those days, right alongside him while Juubei and Sakura lay on the other side of Kazuki. Shido preferred any place near the window and he liked it open (despite Kazu-chan's protests - he had a thing about windows) so that his cats, birds and mice could get in and out as they pleased. Emishi usually slept sitting up, leaning into Shido, and usually MakubeX would trade off whom he slept near. Sometimes by Sakura, sometimes by Ginji or Kazuki or Shido... It really depended on his mood.

Ginji smiled faintly to himself. Kazu-chan had always been such a warm, comforting presence against his side, one arm slung across his middle, head rested on Ginji's shoulder. He always fell asleep before Ginji, as though staying awake would be disrespectful in some way. He wondered if the thread-user would still do it now.

Ban-chan was different than that, but not in a bad way. He rather liked how his partner would stay awake long after him and watch him sleep. Ban never admitted to it, but he did and somehow, Ginji just knew.

_'Ban-chan and Kazu-chan..._' he mused quietly. '_They're so different, but alike in a few small ways... Shido and Ban-chan, too._' Maybe it was part of the reason why Ban had felt so familiar to him even when they'd first met. Like warmth and sanity and comfort and home. Every time he missed his friends - missed the Volts, all he had to do was look at Ban and he remembered all over again why he still didn't regret having left Mugenjou those several years ago.

A knock at the door jarred him from his sentimental thoughts and he got up, running a hand back through his sleep-mussed hair. "Come in."

He'd expected MakubeX, or Emishi or even Juubei, and was surprised when a different familiar face peeked in.

"Kazu-chan!"

The thread-user smiled and slipped inside, shutting (and locking, out of his paranoid little habit) the door. "Good morning. I hope I didn't wake you."

"Nah, I needed to be getting up." He yawned and plunked right back down onto the bed. "How come you're here? Are you visiting Juubei?"

"Sort of." Kazuki grimaced a little. He'd not actually gone to see Juubei or Toshiki yet... but it was on his agenda. They were out on patrols at the moment anyway. "I also came to see you."

"Oh." The blonde blinked and drew his legs up, sitting Indian-style and patting the empty space in front of him. Kazuki took the cue and meandered over, sitting down. "Is everything okay, Kazu-chan?"

"Nn. Everything's fine." What was he supposed to say? 'I'm crushing on your best friend/partner/possibly love interest and I want to know if he's just stringing me along'? All he really wanted was some sort of reassurance that Ban wasn't actually just trying to get him to bed because of some stupid argument with Shido. The fact that he needed to be reassured at all, however, was proof that he didn't trust Ban as much as he thought he did. "I spent yesterday with Ban-kun." There, as good of a place to start as any.

Ginji's face lit up. "Glad to hear it. I was kinda worried Ban-chan would be all alone while I was gone... Is he okay?"

"He misses you." Kazuki lay back, stretched out on his side and facing Ginji.

"I was going to call him..." He sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "But I know he had a job last night and I didn't wanna call while he was in the middle of anything, y'know? I figured he'd call me this morning and let me know he got through it okay."

"You could call _him_," Kazuki suggested, wanting to ease Ginji's worry - as well as his own. _He_ refused to permit himself to call, but that didn't mean Ginji couldn't.

The blonde worried at his lower lip for a moment, then leaned over and snagged his shorts from the floor to dig the cell phone out of its back pocket. He and Kazuki both stared at it for a minute, as though expecting it to start ringing or doing tricks or something. Finally Ginji hit the first speed dial button and put the phone to his ear.

It must've rang six or seven times before Ban picked up, his voice exhausted and thick with sleep. _"'Ello...?"_

"Ban-chan!"

On the other end, Ban gave a lazy smile, eyes still closed and moving as little as he could so as not to jar his injured shoulder. "Hey, Ginji..."

"You okay? How'd the job go? I didn't mean to wake you up, but Kazu-chan and I were worried and - did you eat breakfast? You should come see me and we can eat together!" He rattled on a moment longer, and Kazuki just smiled faintly.

"Oi, oi, Ginji... Calm down." Ban yawned and grimaced as he attempted to right his seat up. "I'll come see you for breakfast -" Pause. "Threadspool's there?"

"Uh huh. He came to see me." Ginji glanced over with a grin. Kazuki stared at the phone intently.

"...Lemme talk to him," Ban said after a moment. Ginji blinked, but handed the phone over obediently. Kazuki eyed it as though it might bite, taking it slowly.

"Good morning, Ban-kun."

"Yo. ...Things got a little hectic last night. S'why I didn't come by." No apology, of course, but there was a hint of one in his tone. Kazuki had wanted to be angry, just like he'd been that morning, but... it just all seemed to melt away at the sound of Ban's exhausted voice.

"It's alright. Are you well? You don't sound it."

"Nn. Tired. Little sore. I'll be fine."

Frown. "Do you need a doctor?"

Ban started to object, then examined his shoulder as he was peeling off the bandaging.. The skin around the wound was red and sickly looking. Great. The last thing he needed was an infection. "...I'll go see old-man Gen when I get there."

"Juubei can look at you," Kazuki offered. Not that Gen wasn't a wonderful doctor, but Kazuki had always put his faith more in Juubei for such things.

"Sure, whatever. I'll see you guys in a bit - lemme talk to Ginji."

Kazuki handed the phone back over and they proceeded to talk about last night's job, what Ginji had been up to... Kazuki whispered that he'd see Ginji in a bit and the blonde grinned and nodded to him. He could still hear Ginji's excited voice out in the hall, and off he headed to pay a visit to his personal doctor.

* * *

Juubei was easy to find with MakubeX's help. Kazuki approached the blind man on a corner near the west exit out of Mugenjou, sneaking up behind him as quiet as he could. His childhood friend had his head lifted, and was even turning it as though he were looking around. Sometimes it was hard to remember that Juubei was blind - until you took him out of Mugenjou, at least.

Still, Kazuki had managed to get up behind him and was reaching out when Juubei turned towards him suddenly, surprised.

"Kazuki." He didn't even make it a question.

The thread-user grinned up at him. "All these years and I still can't sneak up on you."

A rare smile touched the blind man's face and he dipped his head a little, permitting Kazuki's arms around him in a hug. "It's good to see you." Figuratively speaking, at least.

"Likewise. It's been awhile... Walk with me?" Kazuki linked his arm with his best friend's, giving it a tug, and Juubei had no objections to allowing himself to be led off down the street.

Meanwhile, Juubei was taking in as much information as he could about Kazuki. The way he talked, the way he walked (limping? Not much, but a little...), even the sound of his breathing. "Are you well, Kazuki?" He asked worriedly.

"Of course I am." Kazuki gave his arm a pat, then another gentle tug, turning a corner. He figured if he, Ginji and Ban were going to have breakfast, he needed to go _find_ breakfast for them to eat first. He didn't imagine Ginji had any money, and Ban wasn't likely to fork over the cash to feed all three of them. Besides, he would treat Juubei as well, especially since he had a favor to ask him once the pleasantries were over.

"You're limping," Juubei pointed out flatly. "What happened?"

Sigh. "A rough job, that's all. It's feeling a lot better today - just a few bruises."

Juubei's steps halted at that, and his tone was one of worry and almost pleading. "Kazuki... Working alone like this isn't-"

"Isn't safe," he finished. "Yes, I know, I know. You and Toshiki have told me this countless times." He sighed again. "While I appreciate the concern, it's not like I get injured all that often." Bruises, cuts and scrapes came with the job description. But he could count the number of times he'd been _really_ injured on one hand - and this, he hardly counted. Being shot or stabbed, that was a little more serious. Not that he hadn't taken much worse there in Mugenjou, but Outside, without the accelerated healing rate factoring into the equation, a simple stab wound was a lot more serious and took weeks as opposed to hours to heal.

"You could at least take me with you," Juubei continued quietly. And then, because he knew that himself tagging along could quite possibly make things _worse_ he added, "Or Uryuu. He would gladly go." And as much as Juubei didn't like the man, he trusted him to take care of Kazuki at the cost of his own life. They had that much in common, at least.

"I don't work well on these kinds of jobs with others," Kazuki tried to explain patiently, and with another tug managed to at least get Juubei walking again. "I have to be concentrating completely on what I'm doing, not worrying about someone else's safety if something goes wrong. Trust me, if there's ever a job I honestly don't think I can handle alone, I'll take someone with me." And that much was true; he'd worked with Shido a few times - they helped one another out with jobs that were a little too tricky for one person to handle... and even a handful of times he'd gone with Himiko on a transport job to play guide or navigator.

Juubei didn't seem satisfied with the answer, but he dropped it nonetheless and simply nodded curtly. The worry was still written all over his face - subtly, but Kazuki knew his expressions so well that it was plain as day to him.

"...Why don't you look at my leg later? Make sure I'm really okay," he finally offered. The blind man's expression seemed to smooth a little, calming, and he nodded. Finding out for himself that Kazuki was well would placate him for the time being.

"I'm having breakfast with Ginji-san and Ban-kun," Kazuki continued, "if you'd like to join us."

While the idea of sharing Kazuki's attention with others wasn't his idea of fun, Juubei knew any time with Kazuki was good, and so he nodded again. "Midou is here?"

"He will be. I need to pick something up for all of us to eat." He paused. Well, good a time as any to ask. "I think he got himself a little banged up in a job last night... Maybe when he gets here, you could...?"

"I'll examine him."

"You don't mind?"

"As long as I can check your leg first, I don't mind." It was a good compromise, one Kazuki was more than willing to go for. The thread-user smiled up at his companion, gave his arm a squeeze and changed the subject to happier things.

* * *

Ban wasn't there yet when they got back, though MakubeX popped in long enough to inform them that he was inside Mugenjou and headed their way. Ginji was eyeing the assortment of food Kazuki and Juubei had brought back with them with a watering mouth, and more then once Kazuki gently smacked his hands away when he'd reached for something.

The table in the room was old and cracked and honestly wouldn't have been too comfortable to sit at. Instead, Ginji sat on his bed, leaning back against the wall with Kazuki on the edge and Juubei sitting on the floor at his feet. It was as good of a place as any so that he could have easy access to Kazuki's leg, and no sooner had the string-user gotten comfortable did he feel a sharp twinge that came from Juubei feeling around.

"Ow."

"Please hold still."

"That hurts." He squirmed a little. Really, by now he could have easily sat still and permitted Juubei to poke and prod at him with as many needles as he wanted, but the exasperated look his doctor got on his face when Kazuki whined and wouldn't stop moving was too cute for words - especially since Juubei knew he was doing it on purpose. The times that Kazuki remained perfectly still and wasn't a royal pain were the times that Juubei knew immediately that something really was wrong.

Juubei's fingers were careful, starting at his knee and working up along his thigh until he felt Kazuki's leg give a small, involuntary jerk of pain. A few moments of silence later and, "You pulled something rather badly."

Kazuki quirked a smile. _He_ could have diagnosed that himself. "Am I going to live?" he asked lightly. Juubei frowned up at him.

"You really should be more careful or you're going to end up _tearing_ something. It was a pulled muscle, but now it's just knotting up because you aren't giving it proper rest. Is it causing you a lot of pain?"

"Some," he admitted. "It's not as bad as it was yesterday."

"I can alleviate some of the discomfort for you, but you'll need to get out of the pants."

Understandable. Using needles through denim jeans wasn't exactly going to work. Kazuki glanced over at Ginji, who was just watching them with a fascinated sort of curiosity. "Can we wait until after breakfast?"

Juubei started to answer, paused, and tilted his head towards the door. He heard Ban coming before either of the others did, and it was a signal for Ginji to go flying off the bed and tackle his partner the second he was through the door.

"BAN-CHAN!"

"Ghk- Get offa me!" Ben squawked indignantly, wind milling to keep from falling back flat onto his ass. He managed to pry the wibbling tare off of him with his uninjured arm after a few attempts, and scowled down at him. "Jeez, you'd think you hadn't seen me in a week."

"I _missed_ you, Ban-chan!" Ginji wailed. Ban cuffed him upside the head, albeit gently, and deposited him right back onto the bed. He then nudged his glasses up his face and turned his attention to Kazuki - disregarding Juubei entirely. Not that Juubei seemed to be paying him any attention either. Kazuki quirked a smile up at him, though his eyes were very obviously looking him over in concern.

"Where are you hurt?"

"Huh? Oh, don't worry about it. Let's eat."

"I smell blood," Juubei tilted his head back a little, and the look that Kazuki gave Ban was enough to make him grumpily give in.

"Just the shoulder. I took care of it myself."

"You told Kazu-chan that you'd let Juubei look at it," Ginji said rather firmly, looking now less interested in the food. His partner's well being always came before food - no matter how good it looked. "Please, Ban-chan?"

That was all it took. Ban scowled, mouth twitching slightly, and he stepped back a little to start unbuttoning his shirt.

The bandages had obviously just been changed before he'd come into Mugenjou, because they were starting to bleed through. Ginji whimpered a little and Kazuki's expression contorted into something more upset than concerned. "It's always the right fucking shoulder," Ban grumbled.

Juubei rose smoothly, gestured to the bed and slid one of his tobari out from where they were snuggly strapped to his forearms. "Please sit down."

Ban eyed him, growled a little but complied after a look from Ginji and Kazuki. He wasn't big on touch (not from men, at least) even on his good days, and being injured was like trying to poke and prod at an injured rottweiler that was having a bad day. Juubei ignored the tiny little snarl of pain as he started pressing around over the bandaged area, and didn't even ask permission before removing the bandages. It was then that Ginji and Kazuki both grimaced.

"And you were telling _me_ to be more careful. What _happened_?"

"See, Ban-chan! This is why you shouldn't go out on jobs alone!"

"Oh shut up," Ban growled, suppressing another wince. If Juubei could see, it probably would've been a lot easier. It made him think of how Kazuki would come to the blind man for examinations whenever Juubei pleaded enough with him (he was always so worried for Kazuki's health). Everything he did, everything he examined, would all have to be done by touch. Ban found the mere thought of it made him angry, and as a result he gave a growl at Juubei that wasn't a result of the pain at all.

Growls, snarls and hisses ignored, Juubei went on with his examination with a flat expression. When he was done, he drew back and straightened up. "I need to get a few things from my room."

Kazuki started to get up. "Do you need help?"

"No." Juubei frowned in his general direction. "You need to stay off that leg until I tend to it."

"I'll go," Ginji offered, crawling past his partner and slipping off the bed. Juubei didn't object, and so Ginji followed him out of the room, giving one last forlorn look back at the breakfast he was leaving behind.

The door clicked shut and Kazuki and Ban sat in silence for a long moment, Ban toying with the bandages Juubei had removed from his arm, Kazuki just watching him do so.

After a moment... "What happened?"

"Meh. Rough night." He sulkily refused to admit that, yes, perhaps he'd gotten a little too careless. e was so used to having his partner there, after all, that working alone left him slightly off-guard. It was a mistake he wouldn't make again, however. Midou Ban was nothing if not a fast learner.

The thread-user fell quiet again, at a loss for what to say. It took him a few tries to think of anything. "At least it'll heal faster if you're here in Mugenjou. Just stay a few hours and you should be good as new." It occurred to him that Mugenjou was probably the reason his leg was feeling so much better. Within two or three hours, his bruises and other injuries were likely to be a thing of the past. All things considered, the fortress did have its uses.

"As though I'd wanna stay here any longer than I have to," Ban grumbled, toying with the pack of cigarettes lying in his shirt pocket across his lap. He looked like he really wanted to light one up, but it seemed pointless if he was going to have to put it out to eat soon anyway.

"But... if you just stayed until it healed..." Kazuki protested softly, sighing.

Ban's dark gaze flicked towards him. "What're you so worried for, anyway?"

"I'm..." Kazuki sat up a little straighter, feeling his stomach tighten uncomfortably with the question presented. Why _was_ he worried? "I'm not worried. You've taken worse than that before." Okay, so maybe it wasn't a lie. He wasn't really worried _anymore_, but last night...

He lifted his gaze again, studying the half-lidded smirk now on Ban's face. "Don't look so satisfied with yourself."

"Why not?" Ban rolled his shoulders a little, wincing minimally. "If you're crushing on me so bad, itomaki, you really ought to just say something." His smug expression both intrigued and frustrated Kazuki; made him want to both slap Ban and kiss him.

He settled for the latter, any thoughts of his earlier conversation with Shido out the window and in the gutter. He didn't even remember moving forward, didn't remember putting a hand into Ban's hair to tug him closer so their mouths could meet halfway. All he could remember afterwards was how Ban smelled and felt and tasted and that for once, he was prepared enough for it to do something other than sit there stupidly.

He would also later remember the look on Ginji's face when he and Juubei chose that moment to reenter the room.


End file.
